Wild World
by Brianna Sterling
Summary: AU- Caroline and Klaus met in 1015, Klaus was different then, loving and kind. Caroline fell for him and their life together was perfect and all they could ever imagine, and then it all came crashing down. -Damon and Caroline met in 1866, their time together was wild and exciting until they were forced apart. Now Caroline is back in Mystic Falls. ((*Full Summary inside*))
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: AU- Caroline Forbes and Niklaus Mikaelson met in 1015, Klaus was different then, loving and kind. Caroline fell fast for him and they married soon after. Their life together was perfect, simple, and all they could ever imagine, and then it all came crashing down. ****-Damon Salvatore and Caroline Forbes met in 1866. They lived and learned from each other. Their time together was wild, exciting, and so much fun, until they were forced apart. ****Now Caroline is back in Mystic Falls. What brought her back after all this time? Who will capture her heart again? Will they keep it this time, or will the cruel world tear them apart again? **

**A/N: So, this is my first time in this area of fanfiction, I hope you guys enjoy. Please keep in mind that I do not know a great deal about this area, let alone the different time periods, but I am researching and doing my best. So read, favorite, and review. Thank you all! **

**Chapter 1**

Damon and Stefan walked into the Sheriff's office quickly, he looked up as they entered and he stood.

"Boys." he nodded.

"Sheriff." Stefan nodded to him.

"We have a problem." he said grabbing a file from his desk. He passed it to Stefan and Damon peered over his shoulder as he opened it.

"Four dead bodies in the woods in two days." Stefan said reading over it and flipping through the reports and pictures.

"Yep, all with their throats torn at and their bodies drained of blood." he said.

"Vampire?" Stefan cocked an eyebrow.

"Have you boys turned anyone new lately?" he asked taking the file back. Damon rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Are you insinuating we don't know how to control ourselves?" he asked with a smirk. The Sheriff looked at him and pursed his lips.

"No, we haven't." Stefan said.

"Well then, I guess we have a visitor." he said quickly.

"We'll find it and stop it." Stefan said.

"You do that, before we have to." he said. Stefan nodded and they left quickly.

"Well as delightful as that was, I have better things to do with my day." Damon said as they exited the office. Stefan reached out and caught him.

"We don't need anyone else bringing unwanted attention to us." He said.

"Always so serious Stefan, can't we let the Sheriff handle this one just this once?" Damon asked.

"Did you even look at the file?" Stefan asked. Damon shrugged and shook his head.

"I recognize those names, each one of those guys was a felon, and each one for a bad crime, rape, murder, things like that. Recently released from jail. None of them were good guys." Stefan said.

"So what, we have a vigilante vampire?" Damon asked.

"Yeah, a vampire that doesn't need to be killed, just controlled, probably new." He said. Damon crossed his arms and shrugged.

"Fine." He said giving in. Stefan nodded and they turned toward the car.

"Call Bonnie, she can check the borders." Stefan said. Damon nodded and pulled out his phone. He hit a few numbers and pressed the phone to his ear.

"Bonnie, when is the last time you checked the barriers?" Damon asked.

"I can usually feel when something new comes through." Bonnie said.

"Well if they aren't new to town, just a new vampire would you feel it?" Stefan asked.

"No, if they were hear when the borders were set then no." she said.

"Can you check them?" Damon asked.

"Give me a minute." She said. The line went silent and they waited. A few months ago Bonnie set up borders around the town, it helped them to monitor who and what came in and out of Mystic Falls.

"Yeah, something came through three days ago, vampire." Bonnie said.

"Area?" Stefan asked.

"Other side of the river." She said.

"Thanks." Damon said as he hung up.

"River, check." Damon said with a smirk.

* * *

Later that night they walked through the woods slowly, both sniffing the air, both keeping their eyes open. They didn't have to walk long before they heard a loud shriek and the smell of blood hit them. They raced forward and came face to face with a tall, blonde girl holding a man against a tree, drinking in gulps from his neck. Stefan rushed forward and pulled her back quickly. She lashed out at him but he quickly pinned her arms behind her back while Damon grabbed the man and compelled him to forget all of this and go home. Stefan struggled to keep his hold. The girl was pretty, her eyes were pale blue and she had pretty pale skin.

"Ok, who are you?" Damon asked as he came up to her. She growled and jerked against Stefan's hold.

"None of your damn business." She said. Damon wiggled his eyebrows and smirked.

"What are you doing here?" Stefan asked.

"I'm doing nothing wrong, these men deserve to die." She said pulling again.

"Who are you?" Damon asked again.

"My name is Jess." She said softly.

"Ok Jess, what are you doing here." Stefan asked.

"Running." She said.

"From?" Damon asked.

"The woman trying to control me." she said growling again.

"She made me the way I am and she won't let me eat like I want to." She said hissing as Damon got close.

"Who made you?" he asked. She opened her mouth to speak but a streak of blonde hair flashed in their faces and Jess went limp in Stefan's arms. Rebekah stood in front of her, a stake in her hand, the end inside Jess.

"Rebekah." He said quickly as he eased Jess to the ground.

"She stole my meal." Rebekah smirked and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"So you killed her?" Stefan asked.

"It shouldn't be as surprising as you make it out to be." Rebekah said. She gave a sideways glace to the brothers before she turned and sped away.

"Problem solved." Damon shrugged and Stefan sighed.

* * *

The next day Elena, Damon, and Stefan stood in the living room of the house, The Sheriff in front of them.

"So no more bodies piling up?" he asked.

"Yep, no more bodies." Stefan said. He nodded and thanked them before he headed to the door. When he opened it Bonnie stood on the outside, her hand poised to knock.

"Bonnie." The Sheriff nodded. Bonnie nodded back and passed him, coming into the house.

"Hey Bonnie." Elena smiled.

"Hey." She said nodding. Elena noticed she looked worried and she frowned.

"Everything alright?" she asked. Bonnie frowned and shook her head, both Damon and Stefan looked up from what they were doing.

"Something came through the border." she said.

"Something?" Elena asked.

"Something big, something old, vampire." She said closing her eyes briefly.

"Are you going to give us more hints?" Damon asked waving his hand.

"I don't know anything else, I can just feel it coming." She said.

"Is it dangerous?" Stefan asked.

"Can't tell." Bonnie said shaking her head.

"Well let's go ask the resident dictionaries on all things old." Damon smirked.

"Klaus?" Elena asked.

"I was thinking more along the lines of Rebekah." He said.

* * *

They walked through the doors of the Mikaelson home quickly, all together. Bonnie could tell Klaus was not home, she'd made sure of that.

"The least you lot could do was knock." Rebekah said appearing in the living room.

"As much as we hate to ask, we need your help." Elena said. Rebekah stared at them and Bonnie picked up.

"Something crossed the border this morning, old, vampire, strong." Bonnie said.

"And?" Rebekah asked, propping herself against the couch.

"Because when something like this comes in, it usually threatens all our livelihood." Stefan said.

"Nothing worse than when the villagers get spooked." Damon said. Rebekah pursed her lips and finally nodded.

"What are you asking?" she said.

"Do you know of another old, strong vampire?" Elena asked.

"My brothers and I have made plenty of vampires, some are old, some are not." She said.

"So you're saying you don't know?" Bonnie asked.

"Yes, but Stefan has a point I guess, so I will help you look." She said nodding toward the door for them to leave.

"Alright." Damon nodded as they walked out the door.

* * *

Stefan followed behind Damon as they walked through the woods, Elena behind them, Rebekah at their side.

"We have been out here for hours. I am tired, my feet hurt, and I stink." Rebekah said.

"It's not going to kill you." Damon smirked. Rebekah rolled her eyes and then quickly froze.

"I smell blood." she said, she turned and raced off, Damon and Stefan right behind her. They flew through the woods, dodging trees and fallen branches, the blood hit their noses and they were on the body before they knew it. A man, lying flat on his back, blood smeared across his neck. Stefan bent and looked over him, his eyes caught the rise and fall of his chest.

"He's still alive." Stefan said. Elena was behind them in an instant.

"I know him." she said peering over their shoulders. Stefan looked back at her.

"Jack Benson, he lived two towns over, just got out of jail for a robbery gone wrong, it was all over the news, he shot a man, didn't kill him, but injured him badly." Elena said.

"I can catch it." Rebekah yelled and ran off before they even noticed.

"I got it." Damon said running off behind her. He was no match for her speed, but he could see her in the distance. She stopped suddenly and he came up on her quickly. She was on the ground, a mess of blonde hair and bodies rolling blocked his vision. Rebekah was clinging to another girl, trying to get a hold on her, but she kept failing and the other body jerked free finally, hopping to her feet. Rebekah was up right along with her and the two girls stared at each other. Damon finally saw the face of the other girl, he was stunned. The blonde hair, the blue eyes, the pale skin, and splash of freckles.

"Caroline." The name fell from his and Rebekah's lips at the same time. She stared at them both, her eyes darting back and forth between the two, her chest rising and falling.

"Rebekah." She said in astonishment, her eyes wide.

"Damon." She whispered, her head shaking back and forth as if she could not believe the people in front of her. Damon looked her over, she looked exactly the same as she had in 1866, beautiful and doe eyed. Damon heard Stefan run up behind him, Elena next to him. Caroline's eyes fell on the pair and she turned away and ran, Rebekah moved to go after her but Damon caught her arm.

"Let her go. She won't go far." Damon said. Rebekah glared at him and pulled her arm free.

"How do you know her?" she asked.

"I could ask you the same thing." he said.

"I have to catch her." Rebekah said turning. Damon caught her again and shook his head. Rebekah ripped away and shoved him hard.

"If you know anything about her you know she runs and she'll never talk to you, let her come to you. She'll come back." Damon said. Rebekah sighed and looked in the direction she'd run.

"Who was that?" Elena asked.

"Caroline." Damon said quickly.

"Your Caroline?" Stefan asked, his eyes widening.

"Your Caroline?" Rebekah asked quickly, glaring at him.

"Long story." He said.

"You both know her?" Stefan asked.

"She was my sister in law for eleven years, I thought she was dead." Rebekah said slowly.

"She married one of your brothers?" Damon asked lifting his eyebrows and frowning. Rebekah chuckled, clearly in a good mood.

"And I bet you will never guess which one." She said.

"Elijah." Stefan said. Rebekah shook her head and jerked it toward town.

"Meet me back at my house." She said turning and running away.

"How long has it been Damon?" Stefan asked. Damon turned and looked away from his brother and Elena, his heart pounding in an oh so familiar way.

"Over on hundred years." He said slowly.

"Let's go." he said.

* * *

They entered the house quickly, Rebekah was waiting in the middle of the room, a small book in her hands. It looked very old and worn out, but clearly it had been well preserved.

"Nice of you to finally join me." she said looking up. They nodded and filed into the room.

"Caroline just so happens to be the only other girl I've ever gotten along with." Rebekah said flipping through the book.

"Cut to the chase, who was she married to?" Damon asked.

"Niklaus." She said with a small smile. She could swear each of their mouths fell open slightly.

"She was married to him?" Stefan asked.

"For eleven years. They were wonderfully happy together." Rebekah frowned. Elena seemed genuinely interested and she slowly sat down on the couch.

"They were in love?" she asked. Rebekah smiled and nodded.

"Very much so." She said, she paused briefly and flipped to the front of the book.

"They met in 1015…"


	2. Chapter 2

I cannot thank you all enough for your reviews and support! You guys are wonderful! This chapter is a little short, but I hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 2**

**Year: 1015**

Caroline walked towards the center of the small lot, people were gathering, some talking, some yelling, she wasn't sure why. She gently moved through the small group, and she crossed her arms as she spotted two young men, both holding swords, both swinging them at each other. Caroline smiled and shook her head. She recognized the Mikaelson brothers, both were handsome, both young, and both smart. Her eyes roamed over the one on the right, long light brown hair, pale skin, tall lean build, piercing blue eyes. He was enchanting. Caroline watched intently as the brother's swords clanged together twice more before the one on the right lifted his foot and kicked his brother hard in the leg, his brother fell and he put the tip of his blade to his neck.

"I win again." He said. Caroline smiled and watched him as he stood back to his full height and stretched out his hand, his brother took it and he helped him to his feet. After a quick handshake and some brotherly jests the pair waved to the crowd and turned Caroline's way. The brother she thought was enchanting was coming right at her, his arm around his brother as they teased back and forth, when he looked up, his eyes caught Caroline's and didn't leave. They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity before Caroline nodded curtly and turned her back on the pair, she walked out of the crowd quickly, but not quick enough apparently.

"Miss!" she heard the shout, she barely missed a step as she continued away, but he was fast, his hand caught her wrist and pulled her to a halt.

"Did you enjoy the show?" he asked as Caroline turned to face him. She wanted to pull away and go, she had been taught to lower her eyes to men, look away, but she never had been much one for rules. She'd caught glimpses of the Mikaelson family every now and then, but she'd never had up close personal interaction with them. She put on her brave face and nodded once.

"It's entertaining as always." She said. He smiled, a cute sideways smile that made her want to press her lips to his.

"Niklaus Mikaelson." He said taking her hand in a more comfortable position, he lifted it to his lips and pressed them gently over her knuckles.

"Caroline Forbes." She said as her breath caught in her throat. He was so charming.

"A pleasure to meet you Caroline. Maybe we will meet again at the next practice." He said. Caroline nodded and pulled her hand back.

"Maybe." She said as she turned on her heel and walked away from him. All the air left her lungs and she chuckled under her breath, she could not believe she'd just done that. She kept walking, knowing he was watching her.

* * *

As the week drew on Caroline spent her days walking around, looking at the grass, kicking the dirt. She was very tired of having nothing to do. She walked toward the back lot, it belonged to the Mikaelson family. She approached the home slowly, there was a young girl outside, her long blonde hair was pulled over her shoulder as she ran her hands over the horse in front of her. Her eyes came up quickly when she noticed Caroline walking by. She smiled and lifted her hand.

"Hello." She called. Caroline returned the smile and nodded.

"Hello." She said. Caroline looked forward and continued to walk the other way when the girl called out.

"You must be Caroline." She said. Caroline stopped and turned slightly, how did she know her name.

"You are all my brother talks about. He thinks you are the prettiest girl he has ever seen." She said with a smile. Caroline couldn't help the laugh that bubbled from her mouth.

"I doubt that." she said. The girl frowned and stopped petting the horse, she moved toward Caroline.

"Doubt that you are all he talks about, or that you are the prettiest girl he has ever seen?" she asked.

"Both." Caroline said.

"Well, I would like to think I am the prettiest, but he is my brother, so he does not think I am pretty. And I would not lie, he has not stopped talking about you since he returned home." she said.

"I am sure he thinks you are very pretty." Caroline said. The girl rolled her eyes and smirked.

"I just told you my brother is practically drooling like a dog over you and the only thing you can say is that you are sure he thinks I am pretty." She said. Caroline paused, she was right, she should be twisting her fingers through her hair with flattery. He thought she was pretty, and he liked her.

"I am Rebekah by the way." She said.

"Nice to meet you." Caroline said. When they heard the door open they both looked up as Nik came walking out. His eyes found Caroline and a smile appeared on both their faces.

"Caroline." He said as he walked toward them. He looked to Rebekah and grinned.

"I hope my sister is not bothering you." He said. Rebekah glared at him and frowned.

"No, she is great." Caroline said. Rebekah smiled towards Caroline.

"Is there something I can help you with?" he asked.

"No, I was just walking past and your sister caught my attention." She said.

"I will be going now." she smiled and turned on her heel to leave, but once again he caught her wrist. Caroline turned and a small grin touched her lips as she removed her wrist from his grasp.

"I imagine you are used to girls fawning over you, but I'm not that girl." She said. His eyes twinkled and she wondered if she had only spurred him on.

"Come over for dinner." He said. Caroline pressed her lips together in a small line, she wasn't so sure her father would approve of that. But for some reason, she could not tell him no. He was handsome and charming in every sense of the word. She sighed and smiled up at him.

"I will come to dinner." She said. A smile broke across his face, showing off his pretty teeth and she smiled as well. He had her, and she knew he wasn't going to let go, and as much as she would deny it, she wasn't sure she wanted him to let her go.

**Year: 1016**

Caroline carried the bucket of water in a tight grip as she made her way back up the hill to her small home. It splashed ever so slightly, but none spilled. She huffed and paused for a moment as she wiped her arm across her forehead to clear the sweat.

"I'll take that." the familiar voice said. The weight of the bucket was removed from her hand. She looked up into those wonderful blue eyes and she grinned.

"Nik, I've told you, I can carry my own water." She said reaching to take the bucket from his hand. He stepped out of her grasp.

"I know very well how capable you are love, but I don't want your delicate fingers aching tomorrow." He smiled and sat down the bucket. He'd been doing this for nearly a year now, helping her, charming her. Caroline looked around, they were shielded by several trees, they always seemed to find time to share a few kisses in the trees before she had to return home.

"I have to get back." she said as he reached for her hand. She allowed him to take it and he pulled her against him behind a tree.

"My father will be furious." She said as he leaned down and placed a kiss along her jaw.

"mhhm." He mumbled his reply.

"Nik I cannot stay." She said closing her eyes as his kisses trailed down her throat. She was losing her resolve, her wall crumbling. She placed her hands on his shoulders before it went too far.

"Nik, I have to return. My father will come to find me, and if he should see us together like this he would kill us both." She said as she pushed him back lightly.

"What can I do to have you all to myself all the time?" he asked.

"I know you will find a way." She said as she placed her hand along his cheek.

"Marry me?" he asked quickly. Caroline was shocked, her eyes widened and she nearly stumbled on the branch under her foot.

"Nik, you are joking." She said slowly. He shook his head and squeezed her in his arms.

"No, I am not. I want you to be my wife. We are old enough, we are in love, give me a reason not to marry." He said. Caroline was stumped, he was right, they were of age to marry, she truly had deep feelings for him and he her, she would also be allowed to leave her family's home and live with him. Her teeth nibbled slightly on her bottom lip before she nodded her head.

"Is that a yes?" he asked peering down into her eyes.

"Yes, I will marry you Niklaus." She said. His lips crashed into hers and they kissed deeply and quickly before breaking apart. He lifted her and spun her in his arms, she couldn't help the squeal that left her lips.

"I cannot think of another man I'd rather spend the rest of my days with." She said as he placed her back on her feet.

"Tell your mother and father, I will tell mine. I will visit tomorrow." He said putting the bucket of water back in her hands. Caroline barely felt the weight as she was soaring with joy. She'd been waiting a year to love him publicly, now she could. They shared a quick kiss and she continued out of the trees with her water. She would marry him.

**Year: 1019**

Niklaus hurried up the hill with the two birds in his pockets, Kol was next to him as they strode toward the homes.

"Good hunt today, see you in the morning." Kol called as Nik turned towards his home. He waved to his brother and moved into his home. The door was open, allowing the sun to shine in.

"Caroline." He called as he came in. The backdoor was open as well and she came through it quickly. She was all smiles as she carried a bucket of water. He allowed his eyes to roam over his beautiful wife. Her hair was down today, bright blonde and wavy, her pale skin was highlighted by the rosy color in her cheeks and the freckles across her nose, her beautiful blue eyes were shining as she walked into the house and poured to water into the large black pot.

"How was your hunt?" she asked.

"It didn't end soon enough." He said as he pulled the two birds from his pockets and placed them on the table.

"Why would you want it to end quickly?" she asked as she cleaned her hands, her back to him. He stepped over to her, his hands lifted and he ran them over her shoulders, moving her hair away from the back of her neck.

"So that I could return to you." He said placing a kiss on the back of her neck. He felt her tense and then relax as his hands ran down her arms and then encircled her waist, pulling her back against his chest. His kisses moved slowly, over her neck and down across her shoulder.

"How romantic." She said. He chuckled and spun her around in her arms, they were face to face.

"Are you mocking me?" he asked. She smirked and shook her head.

"I would never do that Nik." She said. His smile widened as he dropped down and captured her lips, each night he thought there was no possible way he could love her more, and then each morning he woke and she proved him wrong. He used his body to move hers along toward their bedroom, once they were inside her hands tugged at his belt that held his gun. She removed it quickly and it dropped to the floor. She quickly kicked off her shoes and he kicked his away as well. She took hold of his shirt and tugged it up and over his head, throwing it to the ground. He grabbed the back of her dress and pulled the string loose. His hands moved swiftly to her shoulders, he pulled the dress down over her shoulders and it dropped to the ground, leaving her naked in front of him. He paused and looked down, slightly shocked that she wore nothing underneath. She cocked an eyebrow and grinned.

"I was waiting for you to arrive." She said. A large grin replaced his questioning look and their lips crashed together again. She grabbed his pants and pulled them away, he dropped his hands to her back, running his fingertips across her lower back, down across her butt and then to the backs of her thighs. Nik gripped her thighs and lifted her quickly, her legs wrapped around him and his lips dropped to her chest, kissing over her breasts and gently sucking them between his teeth. He moved back and eased her down to the bed where he followed. She hiked her legs up over his hips as his lips returned to her mouth. She moaned into his mouth as his pushed himself inside her wet, warm core. She broke the kiss, her arms wrapping around his back, clutching him to her and she unraveled underneath him. Nik groaned as she buried her head in his neck, her lips licking, sucking, and kissing him over his throat, down across his collar bone, his chest, everywhere. The rhythm they set was punishing, fast, hard, and deep. She was curling and bucking underneath him, and when he felt her tighten around him and her cries ceased he knew she was about to let go. He used one hand to prop himself up and the other his dropped to her hips, lifting her up slightly as he thrust into her deeper and faster.

"Nik!" she cried out and her nails scored his back as she shook beneath him, her eyes closing, her body shaking. He lost himself in her desire and found his release as well, jerking his hips as beads of sweat rolled off of him. He collapsed to the side of her, both of them trying to catch their breath.

"You amaze me every day." He said turning his head toward her. She turned to him and rolled over on her side, dropping her hand on his chest.

"You are perfect." She said as she ran her fingertips across his chest, drawing small patterns.

"I am not even close my love. But you, you are perfection in its finest form." He smiled. She shook her head and smiled.

"I love you." He said softly. She leaned forward and placed a kiss on his chest.

"And I love you." She whispered.


	3. Chapter 3

**You guys are all so great! Thank you for the support!**

**Chapter 3**

**Year: 1020**

"I don't think it is a very good idea Niklaus." Caroline said as they walked toward the caves. He smiled and shook his head.

"It will be fine Caroline. We'll be ok. I am just going to watch over Henrik, we will return in the morning." He said. Caroline sighed and pursed her lips.

"I still do not think it is smart to go." she said. He frowned and took her hand as they walked. Henrik was walking behind, watching the pair.

"We will be careful. I promise you I will come home." he said.

"You better. We will be very disappointed in you if you aren't here as soon as the sun rises." She said. Nik smiled and ran his hand down over his wife's growing belly.

"I am sure you both will get me back in due time if I do not return early. But you will both have to find another mistake to get me for, because I will be home before you know it." He said stopping briefly and kissing her.

"Remember, if mother comes asking, tell her I went to the river for water." He said. Caroline nodded.

"I will. Be careful, watch his back Henrik." Caroline said to the young boy. He smiled and nodded as they approached the caves. She still was not sure about this, but she knew he would be careful, she trusted him.

* * *

Caroline was sleeping peacefully, they'd arrived back home from the caves early and she'd climbed right in bed. She was floating in a wonderful dream world. One that involved her unborn child, sleeping soundly in her arms. She smiled in her sleep until the frantic pounding on her door awoke her. Her eyes peeled open and she saw the bright sun streaming through. She moved as quickly as she could from the bed, her large stomach making getting up and down a problem. She ran her hands down her night gown, making sure it was covering her body and she hurried to the door. Her hands fumbled as she pulled it open. Rebekah stood before her, her clothes disheveled, her eyes red rimmed and tears still running, her hair was a mess atop her head. Caroline let her eyes run down her dress and she noticed some spots of blood.

"What has happened?" she asked quickly, all the air in her lungs leaving, had something happened to Nik?

"Henrik." She sobbed out the name. "He's dead." She said. Caroline was stunned, she could barely breathe, her heart was racing as she pushed past Rebekah, she couldn't even ask about Nik, she had to see for herself. She pulled her dress up from her feet and she raced forward, her bare feet pounding against the ground, aching every time she stepped on an object. She rushed past several people who were shocked to see her running in her current state. She heard Rebekah behind her, but she was only focused on one thing as she ran through the gates separating the Mikaelson home from the other homes.

"Niklaus!" she screamed his name as loud as she could. She saw the family gathered outside, and everything in her came rushing back and it felt like a brick slammed into her chest when she spotted Nik, sitting on the ground near his brother's body. He looked up when he heard her racing toward him. His eyes widened and he stood off the ground quickly, coming toward her. She dropped into his arms and her hands went to his face immediately.

"Are you hurt?" she asked turning his head from side to side. He closed his eyes and shook his head.

"No, I am fine." He said softly. He dropped his head downward and she knew then that he was blaming himself. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him against her, trying her hardest not to look at Henrik's body. She knew the kind of problems this would cause in the family, Mikael had always been especially hard on Nik, she didn't know why, but she knew he was not a very kind man. She ran her hands over his back and held him close, she would be there for him now, even if no one else was.

* * *

It had been one month, one long month since Henrik had been killed. Something was wrong with her husband, Caroline knew that. He was different, he was stronger and faster. He was so different she hardly recognized him sometimes. She eased herself down in the small chair and ran her hand down her belly. She felt that she might die if she had to endure being this way much longer. Her hands ran swiftly over her stomach when she felt a hard kick.

"Easy little one." She cooed but the baby kicked again, this time harder, causing her to wince in pain. A shooting pain ran across her stomach and grunted and clutched the table.

"Nik!" she called. He was down by the river, she wasn't sure he could hear her. She grabbed the table and pulled herself up, a wetness running down her legs caught her attention and she looked down, clear liquid covered the floor beneath her.

"Niklaus!" she yelled as her hands began to shake. She made her way to the backdoor and sucked in a lot of air.

"NIKLAUS!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. Suddenly he was there before her, in what seemed like a very small amount of time.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked quickly, placing his hands along her stomach.

"The baby, I think it is time." She said nodding.

"Now?" he asked. Caroline nodded hurriedly as another sharp pain hit her. She bent slightly and clutched her stomach as a moan escaped her lips.

"Come on, let's get you to the bed. I'll go to my mother." He said wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her along. She went willingly and when they made it to the bed she was all to grateful to lay down.

"I will be right back, it is going to be ok." He said quickly. He leaned down and kissed her lips gently before he rushed away, out the door.

* * *

Nik paced the floor outside his room, back and forth, back and forth. He could hear his wife's miserable cries coming from the room, his mother's voice loud and encouraging her to push on. Elijah and Kol stood close by, awaiting the arrival of the newest member of the family. He froze when he heard the loud cries of a baby. His heart began to race, his hands shaking ever so, the baby was here. He heard his mother's voice, cooing, calming the baby. A moment later the door opened and Rebekah came out, a small bundle in her arms.

"A girl." She beamed up at him. Nik thought he might explode with happiness as Rebekah placed the small child in his arms. He looked down at her, she was gorgeous, just like her mother. Her small hands tightening into fists as she slept soundly.

"Do you have a name?" Elijah asked. Nik nodded and looked up.

"Anna, after Caroline's mother." He said.

"Anna, beautiful, it suits her." Rebekah smiled. He chuckled, she was already sleeping, even after just being born into the world. Nik was moving back and forth, unaware of the fact that he was rocking the baby girl.

"How is Caroline?" he asked.

"Mother is with her. She is very tired." Rebekah said. Nik nodded, she'd been pushing for what seemed like hours, he wanted to go in and see her. It seemed like his mother heard his thoughts because she opened the door quickly.

"Kol, go to Vera's house tell her to come quickly." She said. Kol rushed from the house and Nik's eyes widened as he looked at his mother. Vera was a doctor, she sewed people up, she made people better.

"What is wrong?" he asked.

"Nik, give your child to Rebekah." She said. He hurriedly eased his daughter into his sister's arms and pushed forward into the room. Caroline was lying in the bed, blood was all over the sheets, she was sweating, pale, her whole body appearing weak. He felt his gums ache as he smelled all the blood in the air.

"What happened?" he asked. He shook it off as best he could and rushed to her side, lifting her hand.

"She's losing blood, I don't know why, I can't stop it." his mother said. Caroline's hand was shaking in his and he reached up, running his fingers over her forehead, moving the hair from her eyes. She was pouring sweat.

"You are going to be fine." He said.

"How is she? Is she well?" Caroline asked.

"She is perfect." He said.

"Make her like us, fix her." Nik said over his shoulder to his mother. He was trying to stay calm even though he was losing his wife, he could feel her fading. He didn't want to add another problem.

"I can't do that, it would take too much time, longer than she has left." She said quietly. Nik looked to Caroline, her eyes were closing, she was dying fast. Tears sprang to his eyes he had just lost his brother, he could not lose his wife, he would not lose her.

"You have to do something!" he said yelled to his mother.

"Give her your blood." She said hurriedly, as if she had just remembered. Nik stepped back, appalled.

"Do it now Nik, no questions." She said. She moved quickly and pulled the knife from her belt.

"Your wrist." She said handing it to him. Nik moved back to Caroline, dagger in hand. If this was the only way to save her, he would do it.

"You are not going to die." He said softly. He lifted the dagger and jerked it over his wrist. He hissed as the wound opened up and blood ran down. Caroline's eyes were closed, but he could still hear her heart pumping, it was slow, but it was going. He sat down and lifted her head into his lap, Nik moved his wrist over her mouth, using his other hand to gently pull down her chin, opening her mouth. He pushed his wrist against her mouth and he felt her gently pull against his wrist, her mouth moving slightly, drinking his blood. He allowed her to drink from him for a few seconds before he felt the wound on his wrist close. Nik pulled back and laid her head back down, her eyes remained closed, she didn't move. The door burst open and Vera came rushing into the room. Nik moved out of her way as she leaned over Caroline, her hands moving across her neck, down her body, feeling, touching, prodding. Nik waited and waited for her eyes to open, for everything to be fine. He felt the eyes of his family on his back, he could hear the soft sounds coming from Anna where Rebekah held her in her arms. Vera moved back and she turned her sad eyes to Nik. She shook her head back and forth.

"I am sorry. She has passed on." She said. Nik's heart broke into, his stomach dropped, and his world shattered.

"No, check again." He said quickly.

"Niklaus, I've checked all points, her heart has stopped beating." She said softly. He shook his head quickly, he didn't believe her, he listened, nothing, he listened harder, his ears straining for something and he heard nothing.

"No! No, no, not her!" he said dropping to his knees next to the bed. He was falling apart, first his brother, now his wife. It was too much.

"I am so sorry." Vera whispered.

"LEAVE! GET OUT!" He screamed at both Vera and his mother. His family was inside the front room. Rebekah had passed Anna to Elijah and her hand was covering her mouth as fresh tears rolled.

"ALL OF YOU LEAVE!" he screamed and dropped his head onto the side of the bed next to Caroline's hand. He was unmoving, his whole body crying out for her to come back to him. He heard the shuffling of feet and soon the only scent in the room was his mothers.

"Just open your eyes." he said as tears ran down his cheeks. He lifted his head and looked at her face, it was frozen, not moving at all.

"Why didn't it work? Why is she not waking up?" he asked turning his bleary eyes to his mother.

"It was too late." She said gently as she shook her head.

"She cannot be dead." He said, turning his face back to her.

"I am so sorry Niklaus. You have your right to mourn her, but you also have an infant child who needs a parent. She lost her mother tonight, but she still has her father. We will leave her body here tonight, you come back to the house and we will have them remove her in the morning." She said slowly. As much as he wanted to tell his mother to leave him be, he knew she was right. He had a child, a little girl, a little piece of Caroline. He needed to care for her too. He stood slowly and looked down at his wife. He reached out and took her hand, bringing it to his lips once more, kissing her knuckles gently.

"I love you." He said softly as he eased her hand back down. He turned away from her and left the room, his mother on his heels. As much as he wanted to lay next to the bed and mourn her, he needed to care for his child. He could not admit it, and he would have a hard time coming to terms with what had just happened, but his wife was dead, and she was not ever coming back.


	4. Chapter 4

**Just a small little filler chapter, hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter 4**

Niklaus was awake, sitting in the chair by the window, his newborn daughter in his arms, sleeping peacefully. She had small freckles across her nose, just like Caroline, her hair was blonde atop her head, and she had wonderful pale skin. She was a beautiful child and perfectly healthy. Rebekah appeared from the back of the house, her hair was down, her eyes watery. She looked up and spotted him.

"Good Morning." She said gently. Nik stared at her. He had nothing left but his child, he was a broken shell of a man, empty without his wife. She had been his soul, everything he ever needed. He stood slowly, carefully cradling Anna in his arms.

"I am going to my home to help them remove Caroline. Will you watch Anna?" he asked. Rebekah nodded enthusiastically, she stretched her arms out and Nik placed the small child in her arms. He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her small forehead before he turned to walk out. He could hear Rebekah as he walked away.

"Hello angel. You are so beautiful, like your mother." She said softly. Nik closed his eyes, the pain all too real as he entered his home. He could smell the blood, lingering. He clenched his fists by his sides as he walked into their bedroom. He froze, she was gone. The bed was empty, all that was left was the large stain of blood across it. No Caroline, she was not here.

"Who has taken my wife?" he asked shaking his head. Did they take her before he came? She was gone, not here, where could he find her, he needed to find her. He stomped out of the bedroom, towards the front door, his hand poised to jerk the door back when he heard a noise. It was very small, a slide of something, but he heard it. He turned and sniffed the air, he smelled something, someone, a scent so familiar he thought he was dreaming. The noise rang out again, through his ears, all around him. He hurried toward the very small room where they kept their tools. He wrapped his hand around the door and slowly eased it open. He was met with the brightest of blue eyes and the loveliest blonde hair.

"Caroline." He whispered. Her name fell out before he could stop himself. It was his wife, she was alive. She was curled in the back of the closet, her lower body covered in dried blood, she looked terrified, her eyes met his with such fear, he was horrified that that fear might be of him.

"Niklaus?" she asked softly. He dropped to his knees in front of her. He was overwhelmed, she was alive.

"Yes." He nodded quickly.

"Am I dead?" she asked as she stole a glance down at the floor. He moved toward her quickly and she shrunk back.

"I am so thirsty. I can smell you." She said softly.

"I know love. Just stay here ok, I will be right back." he said standing quickly. He was not sure if she was like him now, if she was a vampire or not. He needed his mother. She nodded and uncurled slightly as he closed the door. He raced out of the house and back to his home.

"Mother! Mother!" he shouted as soon as he entered the home. She came around the corner, her eyes wide.

"What, has something happened to Anna?" she asked.

"No, it is Caroline. She is alive." He said hurriedly.

"Alive?" his mother asked, eyes wide.

"Yes, she is alive, she is thirsty, is she like us?" he asked. She seemed to pause briefly before she nodded.

"Yes, she is. But she needs blood, like you all did, find her someone. Compel them afterwards. Make them forget. Let her drink, and I will provide her with a stone to walk in the daylight." She said waving him off. He nodded, listening to her every word, as soon as she turned he ran from the house, Rebekah stood outside, water in hand, Nik stopped.

"Where is Anna?" he asked.

"Elijah has her, he went to show her the river, he said he would be back quickly. Is something wrong?" she asked cocking her head to the side.

"Caroline is alive. My blood worked, it saved her, but I need someone to feed her." he said. Rebekah's face lit up with joy.

"I will help." She said sitting down the water.

"No, watch Anna." He said.

"Elijah has her, I am helping you." She said. He frowned, he wanted to refuse his sister, but he did not have time. He waved his hand and they hurried away from the house.

"Her." Rebekah said nodding to a girl a little older than she. Nik looked at her and frowned.

"I've fed off her before, she is easily compelled, you go to Caroline, I will bring her." Rebekah said. Nik nodded and rushed away, he was in his home within seconds. He pulled the door open and Caroline looked up. She came towards him quickly, rushing him with her supernatural speed. He wasn't expecting it and he stumbled slightly but caught her in his arms. They leaned into the sunlight and he knew what would happen. She jerked away from him quickly and retreated back into the closet. She covered her face with her hands and shook her head.

"What am I?" she asked slowly. Nik leaned forward into the closet and eased himself down next to her.

"You were dying last night. Bleeding to death, there was nothing we could do to stop it. Mother instructed me to give you my blood so I did. Vera confirmed you dead, I was heartbroken." He said shaking his head.

"I remember talking to you after our daughter was born, she is ok right?" she asked softly. Nik nodded happily.

"She is perfect. Vera checked her from head to toe. We call her Anna." He said with a smile. Caroline beamed and carefully laid her head on his shoulder.

"Tell me what I am. I know I'm not normal, I'm not human Nik, I just know I'm not." She said in barely a whisper. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"After Henrik was killed, mother said that she could not bear to lose another child. She had to do something to make sure we would not suffer the same fate. So she made us immortal, but the price we pay is a heavy one. We cannot go into the sun without it burning our skin, we cannot enter the homes of our neighbors without being invited, but the biggest price is the blood. We have to drink it to survive. We have to hunt and feed on blood in order to live. If we don't drink it we die. I am so sorry I did this to you Caroline, but it was the only way. I could not lose you." He said. Caroline had moved away from him, but not too far that he would be fearful she would run, she was looking at him oddly, her moods shifting quickly, from confused, to fear, to sadness, to happiness, to confused again.

"Please, say something." He said.

"I have to drink blood to live? I cannot go into the sun? How do you walk in the sun? I cannot do this Nik. I cannot drink from a human, how will people not know?" she was asking so many questions so fast. The front door opened and Rebekah came through, the young girl on her arm. She was out of it, clearly compelled. Rebekah was all smiles as she spotted Caroline, she loved having another girl amongst all the men, she had been equally devastated when Caroline had passed last night. Rebekah led the girl to the closet, she pressed her shoulders and the girl went to her knees, she moved her hair back away from her neck and she tugged her dress down, exposing her throat. Caroline leaned forward, her mouth opening slightly, her eyes focusing on her throat. She was so close, but then she jerked her head away, turning quickly. She gasped and coughed as if she were in pain.

"Caroline, you must drink or you will die." Nik said taking her hand. She pulled away, not hard, she didn't jerk, she just eased her hand out of his.

"I can't. It's blood Nik, it is a human, she will remember and tell people." Caroline said. Nik turned to her and took her face in his hands, turning her eyes to his.

"Listen to me, if you do not drink you will die. She will not remember, I swear. You are only 20 years old, you will never age a day, you will continue to look like this for hundreds of years, thousands of years. Anna will never lose her mother again, we will be together forever. I love you Caroline, and I swear to you, I would never do anything to harm you." He said as calmly as he could. Caroline looked at him and closed her eyes briefly before she nodded slowly.

"I will do it." she said opening her eyes again. Nik let her go and she turned to the girl. Rebekah carefully pulled a small dagger from her waist, she pressed it against the girl's throat and cut a small line upward. Caroline eased forward, her hand slowly wrapped around the back of the girl's neck and she pulled her forward. Nik watched in awe as his beautiful wife dropped her mouth over the girl's throat and closed her lips over the cut. She pulled back quickly and closed her eyes, her mouth open wide, revealing blood covered fangs. Her tongue ran out and she licked over the blood on her mouth before she dropped back down and sank her fangs into the girl's neck. Nik's eyes ran up and down her body as she leaned over the girl, holding her close, drinking down her blood. He gave her a few more moments but he did not want her to kill the girl, that would bring attention to them.

"Caroline." He said carefully. She paused, her mouth slowing its pulls.

"Caroline that is enough, you are killing her." he said. She pulled back then, as quick as she'd sank her teeth in, they were removed from her neck and she released her. She dropped back against the wall, and covered her mouth.

"I am so sorry." She said shaking her head.

"Rebekah, get her out of here." he said pointing to the girl. Rebekah scooped her up and hurried from the room. Nik could see the pain in her face as he slid close to her. He took her face in his hands once again and lifted her blood stained lips to his. He kissed her gently and slowly, circling his tongue over her lips, tasting the blood on her tongue. When they parted he looked deep into her eyes.

"We will do this together, I will let nothing harm you." He said.

"I trust you." She said leaning her forehead against his.

"I love you." He said.

"I love you." She returned.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry it has been a few days, I was out of town this weekend and not around my computer at all. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**Year: 1025**

"Father! Look what I found!" Anna yelled as she ran into the house, she was swinging a flower around and beaming. Caroline turned as Anna leapt into her father's arms. He lifted her up and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"That is a beautiful flower. It is almost as beautiful as you." He said holding her tight. Caroline smiled and leaned back against the table. Her Anna was as beautiful as the morning sun. Her hair was blonde and long, hanging down her back in waves, her eyes were like her father's, pale blue and full of happiness, she was pale skinned with just a touch of freckles across her nose, they adored her.

"Give it to Mother." Anna whispered as she pushed it into Nik's hand. He chuckled and took the small flower and turned to Caroline.

"Here you are love." He said holding it between two fingers. Caroline took the flower and snuggled close to her daughter, kissing her cheek.

"I love it." she said.

"Hello?" Rebekah called as she came into the home.

"Beka!" Anna said. Nik put her down and she rushed Rebekah, throwing her small arms around her upper legs.

"Hello angel." Rebekah said leaning down and kissing the girl's forehead.

"Mother wants you all to come for dinner." Rebekah said. Caroline glanced at Nik, tensions were running high with his mother and father these days. No one really got along well at all unless Anna was there. They all came together for her, they all loved Anna. Nik nodded and waved his hand.

"We're right behind you." He said. Rebekah nodded and turned, they followed behind her.

"Mother, your flower." Anna said waving it. Caroline leaned down and lifted the flower and Nik stretched his hand out. Anna took his hand eagerly and they headed toward the Mikaelson home. Caroline walked behind her husband and daughter as they trotted hand in hand.

"Mother, hold my hand." Anna said wiggling her free hand. Caroline chuckled and picked up her pace, wrapping her hand in her daughter's much smaller one.

"Do you like holding hands father?" she asked looking up at Nik.

"I love holding hands, with you and your mother." He said to her. Anna looked to Caroline.

"Do you like holding hands mother?" she asked.

"I adore holding hands with you and your father." She smiled. Anna beamed and squeezed her hand, Caroline imagined she was doing the same to Nik's hand. She loved her little family, her perfect little family.

* * *

Nik ran through the field, Anna close on his heels. He laughed and ran in front of her, she was fast for a five year old, and of course he let her catch him often.

"Got you!" Anna screamed as she threw her arms around his legs. He laughed and scooped her up, tossing her easily into the air. She laughed madly as she dropped back into his hands.

"Your turn mother!" she yelled as Nik returned her to the ground. Caroline ran past the little girl and she took off, right on her mother's heels. Nik stood back, his arms crossed, one hand resting under his chin as he watched the pair. Both looking so much like the other, his beautiful, graceful wife, laughing loudly, her head tossed back, her long neck exposed in the sun light, the blue stone that hung around her neck gleaming in the bright sunshine. She was amazing. Anna ran behind her, her small body carrying her over the grass faster and faster, her hair was longer than it had been last week, long, blonde, and wavy, like her mothers. She was an angel in the sun, loved by everyone who met her. She caught her mother around the thighs, grabbing hold and squealing. Caroline laughed with her, she dropped onto the ground, and Anna threw her arms around her neck.

"You're so fast mother." Anna said. Caroline made herself more comfortable, crossing her legs and sitting gently on the ground. She pulled Anna into her lap and tucked Anna's back against her front. Nik walked over to the pair and he sat down next to them. He watched as Caroline tucked Anna under her chin and ran her hand over her hair gently. Nik wrapped his arms around the pair and he held Caroline's back to him as she ran her hands over Anna's hair.

"Tell me about the moon." Anna said. Caroline smiled and tightened her arms around Anna.

"Well Anna, the moon did not used to be that high in the sky, it used to float close to the sun, both of them together, loving, laughing, playing. The moon and the sun loved each other very much." Caroline started.

"But then one day the sun had to leave, it had to go far far away to help light other people's worlds. The moon was devastated, he wept for days." Nik said.

"The sun wept as well, she was heartbroken that she had to leave her one true love. But because the sun and the moon gave up their love for one another to help others, the earth promised that she would bring them back together." Caroline said. Nik squeezed both girls tightly.

"And every once in a while the earth keeps her promise and the sun and the moon meet again, they play, laugh, love, and when they have to part they always say this to each other," Nik paused.

"True love never dies." Anna said with a smile.

**Year: 1030**

Caroline walked around her kitchen, her front and back doors wide open, the cool air flowing in. she could hear the laughter of her young daughter floating in. She turned her head as she came rushing in holding her dress in her hands. Behind her were three other young children, all running through the house, laughing, chasing one another.

"Careful!" Caroline called as they turned and ran out the back of the house down toward the river. Caroline was not worried, the river was not deep enough to drown in, and she had very good hearing. She would check on her every few minutes, make sure she was fine. She turned and went back to cooking, her mind wandering briefly to what her husband was doing right now.

Anna raced down the hill that led to the river, she was laughing loudly as the other children tried to catch her. She reached the river and lifted her dress above her legs, jumping into the cold river she ran across to the other side and smiled in victory.

"I win!" she shouted as the other children were just getting to the opposite side.

"No fair, you had a head start." Sarah Jones yelled.

"I did not!" Anna said sticking out her tongue.

"My turn to run! You have to chase me!" Cole Jones said from where he stood next to his sister. Anna nodded and hiked her dress up, she started back across the river but stopped short when she approached the shore as an older boy came walking towards them.

"Hello children." He smiled. Anna kept her mouth closed, her mother and father did not like when she talked to people she did not know, and she knew almost everyone in the village, but she did not know this boy.

"Are you from the village up there?" he asked as he kneeled down. The other children turned fast, running away from him, Anna was stuck though, he was blocking her path.

"What is your name?" he asked.

"I do not talk to people I do not know." she said softly.

"That's ok, I don't want to talk." He smiled an odd smile and Anna was scared. She didn't know what to do. He reached out and tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.

"My mother is right up there, she can hear me." Anna warned. He leapt forward, wrapped his hand around her neck, the other covered her mouth. Anna's eyes went wide and her hand lifted, clawing at him, his face, his hand, her heart raced and tears sprang forward. She called out for her mother, her father, her aunt, and uncles. They could not hear her, his hand, get his hand away. She opened her mouth and bit down hard. The man yelled and released her mouth and she opened her mouth wide as she screamed.

Caroline turned from the table and headed into her room, her fingers played with the necklace around her neck out of pure habit. She grabbed up the cover from the bed and pushed it into the basket to take down to wash, she was halfway back to the table when she heard a loud scream.

"Anna." She said under her breath. She dropped the basket and turned out the back door. Her speed carried her down the hill as fast as possible.

"Anna." She said coming to a quick halt.

"Anna!" she screamed at the sight before her, all the blood in her body drained, her stomach lurched and her heart stopped. Her baby, her little girl was lying face down in the river. She ran forward, plunging into the river, she gathered her small child in her arms and flipped her over. Her large blue vacant eyes stared upward.

"Anna, baby, Anna, come on baby." She said lifting her small body closer to hers. Tears poured down her face as she shook her daughter's soaking wet body.

"Anna!" she cried and ran her hand down her neck, it was broken, snapped.

"No, no, no, no! My baby!" she screamed and drug herself toward the bank, she fell there with Anna, her hands clinging to her holding her dead child all too tightly. She heard movement but she was to gone to care. Her heart was broken, her world shattered, everything was falling apart, and her baby was gone. Her sweet, innocent, perfect child had been killed.

"Niklaus!" she screamed as loud as she could, her body shaking with sobs. She dropped her head back and cried loudly.

"NIKLAUS!" she cried with everything inside her. She heard him coming along with others, but she was gone. There was no way to save her, not even giving Anna her blood would save her because she was dead.

"My sweet angel, my baby." She said as she dropped her head into her child's neck and cried.

"Caroline! Anna!" Nik was there now, he was at the bank.

"No, what's happened?" he was there, next to them.

"She's gone, my baby is gone." Caroline said, her head still down.

"No, Anna? Anna?" Nik pulled her head back carefully, slowly, and her eyes stared back at him. He ran his hand down her neck and it was broken there.

"Oh no, no, no. Not her, not my Anna." He cried out. Caroline heard broken sobs, heartache coming from him. Rebekah was there now, Elijah too. Rebekah dropped down next to them, her arms coming around Caroline, holding her. A scent caught Caroline's nose from where it lay in her child's neck, tears streaming. It was human, a male, she lifted her head quickly, her nose twitching as she caught the scent, he wasn't far, he was running.

"Take Anna." Caroline said softly to Nik. He was next to her, his eyes filled with confusion, anger, sadness. He took Anna into his arms, clinging to her, much like Caroline had. She pushed away from Rebekah and she was gone, her speed carrying her through the woods after the scent, she was on him in an instant, her hand wrapped around his shirt and she tossed him down hard. He rolled and looked up, horrified.

"It was an accident! I did not mean to hurt her!" he said scooting up against a tree. Caroline changed quickly, her fangs jutting down from her gums, her eyes changing, the veins below standing out. He freaked out, his eyes going wide.

"What are you?" he asked hurriedly.

"You killed her, you murdered my baby." She said shaking her head. More tears fell down, she was broken to pieces.

"I am sorry, I did not want to hurt her!" he screamed towards her. Caroline didn't care, he'd killed Anna, and she would kill him. She rushed forward, her hand wrapped around his neck and she lifted him up, off his feet, holding him against the tree. He coughed and grabbed her wrist, trying to pull himself free. Caroline grabbed his arm with her free hand and she jerked hard. He shrieked loudly, flailing in her hand as his arm was limp next to him, popped out of place. She pulled him towards her and hissed, baring her fangs.

"She was ten years old. A baby, innocent, perfect, she was my world, and you took her away." she cried and slammed him back into the tree. She heard his back snap and she knew he'd never walk again, but he didn't have to worry about that for much longer. He cried, tears ran down his face and he begged for his life, but it fell on deaf ears. Caroline lunged forward and sank her teeth into his neck, she ripped and bit and sucked, as he screamed. Blood poured down her face and neck, his jugular vein pumping blood out over her as his heart slowed. He was dead soon and Caroline still wept as she dropped his body.

"Caroline." Rebekah was there behind her.

"Leave me alone." Caroline said softly.

"Nik needs you now. You need each other. Come back." Rebekah said gently.

"My baby is dead. She is gone Beka." Caroline said almost in a whisper.

"I know, I know." Rebekah said. Her arms came around Caroline, she let her embrace her, because she needed it. They turned away from the body and raced back to their home. They stopped just inside, the front door was closed now, and Rebekah closed the back door behind them. Elijah was there inside, he was incredibly heartbroken. Rebekah went to her brother as Caroline went into her room to face her innocent dead child and her husband.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: The previous chapter and this one where the hardest to write so far. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 6**

Nik was standing over Anna's body, she was in dry clothes, her hair moved away from her face, her eyes now closed, she looked so peaceful, but so wrong. A ten year old child did not deserve this, Caroline had wanted her child to live a long happy life and eventually be changed like her parent's when she reached a good age. Not now though, now it was all lost. Nik looked up at Caroline, tears still present in his eyes.

"Did you kill them?" he asked slowly.

"Him, a man, he said he was sorry, an accident." She said quietly as she continued to stare forward at Anna.

"I still killed him, broke his arm and back first though." She finished. Nik nodded and looked back down to Anna.

"What do we do now?" Caroline said, tears returning to her eyes as she looked at her baby.

"We have to bury her properly." He said. Caroline looked up at him finally, tears spilling down her cheeks, a rough sob broke through her lips and she brought her hands up, wiping hard at the tears that fell to fast. Nik turned to her, his face softened and he came forward.

"Our baby is gone." She cried. He pulled her against him, his chest shaking as he cried also. They stood there, for what felt like minutes, but what Caroline knew was hours. The sun had set, and still they stood, holding each other, comforting each other, until a knock at the door brought bother their heads up. Caroline pulled from him and opened the door. Esther was there, she looked horrified. She and Mikael had been out hunting and fishing.

"Is it true? Has Anna been killed?" she asked softly. Caroline stepped to the side, allowing her to see her grandchild's body.

"Oh Anna. Oh no." she said shaking her head. She hurried forward and dropped onto the bed next to her. Her hands running over her small head.

"Who did this?" she asked slowly. Caroline could hear the tears in her voice.

"A young boy, do not know who he was." Nik said. Esther looked over her shoulder, her eyes were wide and filled with tears. She clearly knew who they were speaking of.

"I must talk to you." She said standing. Nik seemed confused but he followed as she walked out the door. He passed his sister and brother who went into the room to comfort Caroline.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Did you kill him?" she asked.

"Caroline did, yes." He said. Her hand came to her face, covering her mouth.

"That is Patrick Warren's son. He has been rumored to like children, and not in a kind way." She said. Nik knew who Patrick Warren was, a very influential man her in the village. He could barely care though, his son had deserved to die.

"Should that mean something to me?" he asked.

"When Patrick finds his son, he will come after our family. He knows we are not the same people we were. He will harm us all. We cannot risk that." she said.

"What should we do?" Nik asked glancing over his shoulder.

"We spread the truth, Caroline killed him." she said. Nik took a huge step away from her.

"You are suggesting that I get my wife killed?" he asked horrified.

"No, I'm suggesting we kill two birds with one stone. Tell everyone Caroline killed him, but before they can harm her we set the house on fire, a huge accident. We will all cry saying that both Caroline and Anna were trapped inside, no one will question how Anna was killed and no one will suspect our family." She said quickly.

"And what are you suggesting Caroline do? She cannot walk around town after this, we would have to leave." He said shaking his head.

"No, she would have to leave." Esther said in a whisper. Nik shook his head hurriedly.

"I would go with her, she is my wife." He said.

"I won't allow it." she said sternly. He scoffed at her.

"I would like to see you stop me." he dared. She smirked and shook her head.

"I have told you all from the moment you were born, family is the most important thing." She said.

"Caroline and Anna are my family." He said.

"Were." His mother corrected.

"How can you speak so callously of your grandchild?" he asked.

"I am not being callous, I am being honest. Send her away, tell her to run fast and far." She said.

"I cannot, I will not. I lost my daughter today, my child, I will not lose my wife as well." he said shaking his head.

"You will tell her to go or I will make sure she does not live past tomorrow." She threatened. Nik growled and lunged for her but she side stepped him and mumbled something incoherent under her breath, his head erupted in fire and he fell to the ground with a grunt.

"You cannot harm me Niklaus, family is your only foundation, you will send her away and stay with your family or I will kill her." Esther said glaring at him. He grunted and clenched his eyes as the pain flowed through him.

"I will not." He said. Esther kneeled down and stretched her hand out, carefully pushing some of his hair away from his head.

"You will, I know you will, because you know I can kill her, and you love her too much to allow me to do so." She said gently.  
"You will not see her again, you will remain with your family and you will allow Caroline to flee. Forever." She said with a small smile.

"You cannot do this to me." he said shaking his head.

"You need to learn to be strong son, and love is a weakness. You all love her, Rebekah adores her, Elijah admires her, and you worship her. I cannot and will not allow my children to perish because of some girl. Send her away forever." She said. Nik struggled against her hold, but finally he closed his eyes, giving in. He loved Caroline too much to allow his mother to kill her. He could either let her go and live, or keep her for his own happiness and allow her to be killed.

"I will send her away." he said quietly. Esther smiled and stood, not breaking her hold on him just yet.

"I knew you would agree, you have until morning to send her away, after that I will take this into my own hands, and son, if you are thinking of killing me and ending this all, Ayana knows what to do, and so do others. So kill me if you'd like, but others will be watching." She turned and walked away, Nik recovered quickly, leaping to his feet. He wanted to rush her and kill her, but even if he did, he would still have to send Caroline away. Caroline and Anna were his life, he'd lost Anna today, and now he had to lose his wife as well.

* * *

Nik walked back into the house, Elijah stood next to the table.

"Will you give us some time." He said. Elijah nodded and turned to him.

"I am so sorry Niklaus." He said as he waved Rebekah out of the room. She came out and stopped next to him.

"I cannot say how sorry I am." She said wrapping her arms around him. He accepted the hug and then she left, closing the door behind her. He could only think of one way to do this, he would have to be mean. Caroline would try to find a way out of it, she would not accept just leaving and being away from him. Losing Anna was horrible, and he was not sure how he would make it losing both his daughter and his wife. But at least he would know Caroline was out there living, she was in danger with him, and he had to send her away, tonight.

"Nik, is that you." Caroline called. His heart raced as he walked into their room. She was sitting on the side of the bed, her hands folded on her lap. Nik swallowed his heartache and turned to her.

"Why weren't you watching her?" he asked. Caroline's eyes came up to his and they widened quickly.

"What?" she asked.

"Our daughter, why weren't you watching her?" he asked again.

"Nik, I was watching her. I was listening to her too, she was playing with other children. The same thing she does every day." she said standing.

"Obviously not well enough, because here she lies, dead." He said pointing to her. Caroline gasped, her mouth falling open.

"Are you saying this is my fault?" she asked.

"Yes." He replied quickly. She rushed forward and her hand slammed across his face, slapping him hard.

"How dare you." She hissed. His heart was breaking into several tiny pieces, and there was nothing he could do about it.

"I think you should leave." He said. Tears sprang to her eyes and he refused to look at her.

"Why are you saying these awful things to me?" she asked, her voice full of pain. Nik did not look at her.

"Look at me, be a man." She growled. He turned his eyes to hers. The bright blue of her eyes pleading with him to say something, tell her he was not serious.

"Leave, go away from here." he said quickly.

"Niklaus." She said softly, stretching her hand out. He jerked away and glared at her.

"I SAID LEAVE!" he screamed. She shrunk back in fear before she closed her eyes as tears rolled down.

"Is this what you want?" she asked.

"You want me to leave and not return?" she asked.

"Yes." He said staring right at her. She turned from him, she walked swiftly to Anna's side and she dropped down, kissing her forehead softly. She lingered there, her hand came up and she ran her fingers over her child's cheek.

"I love you so much." She whispered before she stood back up.

"I will never forgive this." she said shaking her head as she passed him and walked out the door. He turned and followed, he desperately wanted to reach out and grab her hand, apologize, explain himself, and beg her forgiveness, but she gave him one last look, full of hatred and agony before she turned and sped away. He dropped to his knees and wept, his daughter was dead, and his wife was gone, he had nothing left, he slammed his hands hard onto the floor and roared, his heart pounding, his body aching. He felt like he was dying inside, no one would ever love him like Caroline or Anna, and then he felt it, a small tingle, starting at his toes and sliding up his body, cloaking him, something flipped, a switch inside him, and it was gone, the heartache, the pain, sadness, desperation, love, agony, hatred, betrayal, all gone, he felt nothing and had nothing.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"I woke up the next morning to screams from the people around. I ran out and saw the house on fire. I yelled for Nik, when he arrived he appeared devastated, I never knew what my mother did until now, reading it in his writing." Rebekah said softly.

"Wow." Elena said shaking her head. Rebekah closed the book and sat it on the table.

"Hard to believe right?" Rebekah said with a smirk.

"A wife and a child." Elena said looking to Stefan. None of them could believe the person who they thought was so evil and heartless had once been married and so in love, or that he had a child and adored her.

"So Damon, I've told you what I know of Caroline, now, you tell me." she said. Damon eased back and slipped his hands into his pockets. He wasn't much one for sharing or story time, but he'd learned a lot about Caroline that he never knew, and he suspected Rebekah was just as interested as he was. He sat down on the edge of the couch and shared a glance with Stefan.

"I met her in 1866…"

**Year: 1866**

Damon was sitting casually at the end of a bar, his mouth watering slightly at the appearance of the short brunette behind the counter, the dress tight around her middle, flowing down her legs. She was right there, and he was so hungry, he needed to eat, and soon. He downed the rest of his drink and stood, it was getting late, she would go outside soon for her smoke. He chuckled as he headed out the door, it was frowned upon for women to smoke, but he knew plenty that did it. He turned the corner of the bar and slipped into the darkness. He waited there, sitting against the wall, his hunger growing by the second. He was sure his heart skipped a beat when he heard the swinging of the door and the soft padding of shoes coming down the steps. She came around the corner with a smoke in her hand. Damon was on her before she could press it to her lips, his body thrumming with need as he shoved her against the wall and bit into her neck, blood ran down the side of his mouth as he sucked hard, draining her body slowly. It tasted so good, he felt so wonderful, so full of power. He was stunned when a hand clamped down on the back of his neck, tossing him effortlessly onto the ground. He flipped quickly, going on the defensive, the person, a woman grabbed the girl and shoved her back into the wall.

"Forget this happened, clean your neck off, go back to work." She said releasing her. She turned toward Damon, her blue eyes blazing in the night sky. She raced forward and her hand wrapped around his throat, he had no time to move, because with the flick of her wrist, she snapped his neck.

* * *

Damon's eyes opened slowly, his head ached and his body felt worn down. The morning sun was shining through the window next to the bed he lay on. He sat up quickly, it was a large bed, in a large room, with pretty white walls and several paintings here and there. He climbed from the bed, the last thing he remembered was feeding from the girl, and then another woman interfering. Where was he now? He made his way to the door and pulled it open. It let out to a spanning circle around, in the middle was a staircase. A tall older woman popped out of the room to his left, shocking both of them. She recovered quickly and nodded to him.

"Miss Caroline is down stairs in the backyard. She is expecting you." the older woman said nodding. He pursed his lips and headed down the staircase, it popped out right in the foyer, large double doors stood a few feet in front of him, a room to his right revealed a huge sitting area with spanning rugs and large seats made for many. He turned when he heard voices, women chatting back and forth, laughter, infectious, sweet laughter, he hadn't heard that sound in what seemed like forever. He passed into the kitchen, there were two more women there, younger, both cooking away. He turned and walked out the back door and down the stairs. The back lawn was massive, spanning out across a large field was a rather massive barn. There were woods around the area, a large white gate, and several people milling around. But he spotted the source of the laughter quickly. A young woman was standing next to another girl, they were both talking and laughing. Damon ran his eyes over her, she was dazzling, captivating, and tantalizing. He was drawn to her, he wanted, needed to touch her. She threw her head back and laughed, loud and joyful. She was tall, with breathtaking locks of blonde wavy hair, her skin was an amazing shade of white, appearing porcelain to the untrained eye, and even though her dress was large and long, he could tell the body underneath was just as glorious as the rest of her. She turned her face toward him, suddenly noticing his presence and his eyes widened, she was the girl from last night. He immediately recognized the wild blue eyes. His eyes dropped to necklace hanging around her neck and his eyes widened further if it were possible. It was the same stone he carried on his finger. She was a vampire, which explained the strength she possessed. She said something to her friend and turned his way. He watched her as she lifted her dress and made her way over to him.

"Good Morning." She said. He looked at her for a brief moment.

"Who are you?" he asked. She extended her hand to him.

"Caroline Forbes." She smiled. He looked down at her hand and finally gave in, taking it and bringing it to his lips, kissing her knuckles softly.

"Damon Salvatore." He said.

"I know who you are." She said as he released her hand. He gave her a sideways glance and frowned.

"When you're in a small place you tend to seek out those like you." she said. Damon glanced around and lifted his brows.

"All of these people, they are like us?" he asked. She shrugged and looked around like he had.

"Some of them are, some are not. The ones here ended up here the same way you did. I found them, starving, on the verge of getting caught by other humans. I brought them here and I taught them how to feed without getting caught." She smiled.

"A vampire teacher." He chuckled.

"Well they needed someone, could you imagine how people would react if they knew that things like us walked around with them, coexisted with them? They would set fire to all our homes and kill every last one of us, not to mention innocent people they assumed were like us." She said. he continued to look at her, he still wasn't sure about her, she'd immobilized him very quickly last night, and he sure didn't trust her right now.

"Come on Damon, let's take a walk." She said nodding toward the large garden at the side of the house. She turned and began walking, he wanted very much to turn and flee, but he found his feet moving behind her.

"So it is clear that you're a young thing, I'd say no older than four years." She said as they headed into the garden.

"I was turned two years ago." He said nodding.

"By?" she asked. He ground his teeth, still not comfortable talking about that in depth.

"A girl." He said.

"Ah, not easy to talk about, I understand." She said

"How old are you?" he asked, suddenly interested in this woman.

"Let's see, I was 20 when I was turned, and that was 846 years ago." She said with a small smile. Damon stopped abruptly and his head snapped in her direction.

"846 years old?" he asked. She nodded and continued to walk. He was stunned, even Katherine was not that old.

"And who turned you?" he only asked because he was shocked that there was a vampire older than she was.

"A man." She said glancing over her shoulder at him with a smirk. It was the same answer he'd given, he smiled and chuckled, he deserved that.

"So Damon, just how many people have you killed since becoming a vampire?" she asked as he caught back up with her. He frowned and shook his head.

"I don't know." he said. She nodded and looked up at the sky.

"I know how that feels, you seem to just lose count after a while. But it always comes back, that guilt, their faces. I fell off the wagon in 1031, I was a heartbroken girl, lost, lonely, and desperate. I killed 37 people that year, not really on purpose, not for fun, I just lost control when I was feeding and I drained them before I could stop. But I got it together, of course no one is perfect, I fell down a few times, but I eventually got better and I stayed that way. Feeding off humans is great, I understand that, but you can drink from them without killing them." she said as she ran her fingertips over a rose. Damon watched her, she was smart, happy, and she made him smile, which was something he hadn't done since Katherine.

"Do you remember how many people you've killed?" he asked. She stopped and turned toward him her bright eyes looking right into his.

"389." She said softly. He almost opened his mouth in shock but then he remembered how old she was.

"I regretted killing them, I felt guilty sometimes, but I let it go long ago, living with guilt, sadness, and hatred only hurts you in the end. That kind of weight on your soul is damaging." She said. He knew she was being honest, he could feel it and see it in her eyes and he felt relieved that someone was finally being truthful, someone finally cared enough to be sincere with him and tell him what they really felt. She smiled at him and linked her arm through his.

"Come on Damon, we have a lot to discuss." She said. He smiled back at her and lifted his hand, placing it over her hand where it lay on his bicep and they continued walking. He liked this girl and his trust in her was building, sure he didn't know her very well yet, but she was growing on him.

**Year: 1867**

Caroline stood in front of the very small classroom, twenty children milling around in front of her, all coming in as their parents dropped them off.

"Miss Caroline! Miss Caroline! Look what I have!" a young girl, about six years old, rushed up to her, a small flower in her hand. As Caroline looked down at the girl and the flower, her heart ached, it was a dull ache that had long ago been a heart wrenching, gut twisting ache, but now it was dull. Caroline smiled, it was nice to know even after all these years she could still feel for her child. Her baby girl, the words whirled around in her head, baby, her baby, her child. Tears sprang to her eyes, her throat closed up and a rough sob broke through. She lifted her hand to cover her mouth as the young child in front of her stared up as if she'd done something wrong.

"Miss Caroline?" she asked softly. Caroline shook her head and forced a smile as she fought tears.

"That is a beautiful flower, now go take your seat Lilly." She said nodding. The girl smiled and ran off as Caroline turned to the girl who helped her teach during the day.

"Beth, I need to get some air, can you start?" she asked. The tall brunette nodded quickly and Caroline hurried to the door. She burst out into the bright warm sunlight, her skin warming immediately as it touched her face, neck, chest, and arms. She stumbled and bent over as tears ran down her cheeks slowly. She couldn't stop them.

"Caroline?" A gentle male voice said. She stood up straight and wiped the tears away quickly.

"Damon." She said pushing a smile to her lips.

"You're crying." He said raising his eyebrows. She nodded and wiped at her eyes.

"Remember that sadness we spoke about the first day we met?" she asked glancing over his shoulder as people passed by. He nodded and continued to stare at her.

"Every once in a while it gets to you, not often, but on occasion." She looked down briefly.

"I thought you let that go." he said.

"I'll never let it all go Damon. Not the hate, the guilt, the compassion, the sadness, the kindness, nor the love. It is all a part of what reminds me what it is like to be a human. It's easy to lose that human side after you've been this way for so long, but if you fight for it, it is so worth it." she said nodding.

"How long are you going to teach me?" he asked with a smile.

"As long as it takes for you to understand." She smiled back to him.

"Understand what?" he asked

"Life Damon, understand life." She leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek before she turned and headed back into the classroom.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hope you all enjoy the new chapter. Thank yall so much for reading and reviewing, I couldn't do it with out yall. **

**Chapter 8**

**Year: 1868**

Damon followed Caroline into the dress shop, there were dresses everywhere. He rolled his eyes as Caroline looked around at the dresses.

"This is the third shop we have been in." he reminded her.

"I'm not looking for dresses Damon." She said over her shoulder. He followed her eyes to the two girls behind the counter, both were brunettes, both where short and slim, they almost looked like twins, if their faces had not been completely different.

"You're shopping for food?" he asked

"Of course I am shopping for food. You see that one there, the blonde in the back." she pointed. He followed her finger to the tall, lanky girl in the back and he nodded.

"She is lanky, not slim, lanky, skin and bone, you'd kill her before you even had a chance to stop. The brunettes are slim, equally well endowed at both ends, large hips and thighs, not as weak. And then there is the scent, the blonde smells like a disgusting amount of carrots, which means she eats them often, a balanced diet makes for a better food source, one that eats only a certain kind of food tends to taste like that food, and I do not know about you, but I don't want to eat carrots today." She smiled. He chuckled and watched her as she approached the counter, she leaned in close to both girls and spoke in hushed tones, after a few seconds she pulled back and walked toward the back door, the girls followed closely and she jerked her head toward the blonde. Damon nodded and moved toward her quickly, he grabbed her and pulled her forward.

"You did not see anything, go home." he said quickly. She nodded slowly and he released her as she turned to leave the store. He followed through the door that Caroline had left open and stepped down into the small pathway. Caroline was standing there waiting and she smiled.

"I chose first last time, you get to pick." She said.

"They are almost twins." He smirked. She nodded and looked toward the girls who were almost in a daze. He shook his head and went toward the one on the right, they may have been almost twins, but she smelled sweeter. He moved toward her and watched Caroline out of the corner of his eye, she swept the girl's hair back from her neck and she eased the hem of her dress down to her shoulder, her grip tightened, and her eyes changed, her fangs shooting out, and she leapt forward, sinking her teeth deep into the girl's throat. The girl let out a small grunt of pain but soon she closed her eyes and sank back against the wall Caroline had her pressed against. The blood hit Damon's nose and he turned quickly, his fangs shot out and he dove into his girl's neck. She grunted much like the other girl had, but Damon was lost to all thought as soon as the blood hit his mouth, he swallowed it down and his stomach roared with satisfaction. His vision went black and he bit harder deeper, more blood poured out and he growled in pleasure. His meal was ripped away from him in an instant and his body hit the ground hard.

"Go back to work, this never happened." He heard Caroline, but he was pissed, he growled loudly and leapt off the ground, running at her. His hands wrapped around her neck and before she could utter a word he'd twisted it and broken it. She dropped to the ground heavily and fell in a pile.

"Caroline." He said her name slowly, as he sank back down to reality. He was stunned at his actions. He dropped down next to her.

"Caroline, I'm so sorry." He said as he lifted her body gently, pulling her head into his lap. He carefully pushed the soft hair back away from her face and frowned. He knew she would wake up in a few hours, but he felt terrible. The all too familiar feeling of regret and guilt washed over him. He sighed in frustration with himself and he scooped her up carefully. Her head lolled back over his arm as he carried her quickly to their home. Thankfully everyone was gone as he raced up the stairs and into her room. He eased her down onto the bed and adjusted her body to lie comfortably on the pillows. He dropped into the chair alongside her bed and he stared forward at her. His heart ached for what he'd done. He knew how disappointed Caroline would be with him, first for losing his control with the girl, and then for harming her. He eased back and closed his eyes, it would be a few hours until she woke up, but he would stay by her side.

* * *

Caroline opened her eyes quickly and sat straight up. She was in her room, the last thing she'd remembered was Damon nearly killing the girl, she'd stopped him, and then he'd grabbed her neck. She looked quickly around and spotted Damon sitting next to her, he was wide awake, staring at her. He was upset, she could tell, and her heart hurt for him. He was four years into being a vampire, he hadn't adjusted yet to her way of eating, she'd had nearly 850 years to adjust. She pursed her lips and gave him a small very sad smile as she slid to the edge of the bed and faced him.

"Damon." She started.

"No, no I just. I hurt you today." He said softly.

"But you didn't mean to. I know that." she said nodding. He shook his head and dropped his head into his hands.

"I can't deal with this, all this guilt." He said. She knew that gnawing feeling that was rolling in his gut right now, he was ashamed, she had to pull him back from the edge, she couldn't let him lose himself. She reached forward and grabbed his wrists, pulling him closer to her.

"Don't do this to yourself Damon. It takes years to learn to control yourself. It took me a hundred years at least, and even after I learned, I still killed people, accidents happen Damon. We can't help it, it is our nature, we're vampires, we were made to drink blood and kill humans. But we fight out nature everyday Damon, we fight so we can live like humans, because despite the fact that we'll never die, never age a second from the moment we were turned, we still want to be normal. But normal does not exist Damon, we cannot and never will be normal, we're vampires Damon, so enjoy it, be a vampire with me, don't drown in guilt and self loathing, we can do this together, we can learn and live together." she said. She pushed her soul into those words, every single ounce of herself, and she hoped he listened. He looked up at her and dropped down to his knees, sliding in between her thigh. He dropped his head into her stomach, and his arms went around her middle, holding her against him. She sank her hands into his hair and rubbed his head gently.

"We're going to be fine Damon. We're going to do this together." she smiled and put her hands on his cheeks, pulling his face up. She peered down into his wonderful blue eyes and dropped down, pressing her lips against his. He responded and kissed her back, his hands gripped her back hard and pulled her up against him as she held his face softly. When they pulled apart she smirked and narrowed her eyes.

"Now, let's go be vampires…time for some fun" She said.

**Year: 1870**

Caroline ran around the room, her corset tight around her abdomen, pressing her breast up high, her body was bare except for the panties around her hips and the thigh high hose she wore.

"You cannot run forever." Damon said shaking his finger at her as she stood on the side of the table, her hands placed on her hips. Her blonde hair hung down in waves as she tossed her head back and laughed.

"I could run all day and not be tired, you however have a hard time catching a rabbit." She chuckled and he lunged forward trying to catch her. She whirled out of his way and jumped onto the bed. Damon turned and stood at the edge of the bed.

"I can catch a rabbit, but you my dear are no rabbit." He smirked. He slowly took a small marble from his pocket and tossed it onto the floor, it rolled against the door and Caroline's head turned to see what the noise was. He took his chance, leaping onto the bed, he wrapped both arms around her waist, pinning her arms down to her sides. She squealed and jerked but he held tight.

"See, not a rabbit." He smiled and moved to kiss her. She pulled her head back and crinkled her nose at him.

"You cheated." She said softly.

"I'm sorry, I will make it up to you." he said with a small smirk. She wiggled her eyebrows and leaned into him as his lips dropped to hers. She pulled her hands free and draped them around his neck, he nibbled her bottom lip gently and she smiled against his mouth.

"You are magnificent." She said.

"You are to kind." He said pressing a quick peck to her lips.

"I have to go." she said.

"Why?" he asked.

"I have a class full of children waiting for their teacher." She said.

"How do you think they would feel if they knew what the good teacher was doing?" he asked. She laughed and pressed her lips to his jaw, her teeth softly scratching over the area.

"I cannot imagine." She whispered in his ear. She moved away from him faster than ever and left him standing stunned on the bed. Even after four years he still was not accustomed to how fast she was. He turned and climbed from the bed as she pulled her dress on.

"Will you tie the back?" she asked turning and showing him her bareback. He smirked and walked over to her, his hands lifting up the laces and tugging them very slowly together. He leaned down and dropped a kiss on her bare shoulder.

"Damon." She warned. He smirked and pulled the strings the rest of the way up and tied it off.

"I will see you soon." She said turning to face him.

"Soon." He said. She leaned on her tip toes and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before she turned and raced away to avoid him catching her and keeping her there. His eyes followed her and he shook his head, that woman.

* * *

Later that night Caroline's arm was looped casually through Damon's as they rode in the back of the buggy. Caroline smiled as Damon ran his hand under her dress.

"She's so snooty, I do not even know why she invited us tonight, she despises me, and Warren hates you." Caroline said with a smile. Damon chuckled and leaned down, running his lips gently over her neck.

"Why does he hate me? I've never been anything but kind to him." he said. Caroline bit her bottom lip as he mumbled the words in her ear.

"It is because you are much more handsome than he is. He had to settle for Jenn." She said with a smile.

"And I won the whole show with you." he said. Caroline laughed wildly as they pulled up alongside the home. Damon removed himself from the tangle of her body and he pushed open the door on the carriage, he stepped down and turned as Caroline came forward. She slipped her hand inside his and stepped down, her dress fell around her ankles, it was long and it hugged her body like a glove, the plunging neckline would make most fall head over heels, but Damon had seen under it, and he knew it was all his. She linked her arm through his and they walked into the huge home of the richest husband and wife in town. They huge home was filled with people, people milling around, eating, dancing, and talking.

"Damon, Caroline, it is wonderful to see you!" Jenn said rushing up to them. She was like a whirlwind, spinning around, smiling, and pushing in some very snotty looks at the same time.

"Warren dear, Damon and Caroline are here!" she smiled and waved her husband over. Jenn was an overall cute girl, not nearly as gorgeous as Caroline, but she was cute, and Warren was her husband, a handsome man, but a horrid attitude. They had always come in second to Caroline and Damon on everything except for wealth. Caroline had tons of money, but not as much as Warren had inherited. It also did not help the situation that Warren had an obsession with Caroline. They smiled to them and Jenn reached forward, wrapping her hand around Caroline's wrist. Damon looked down and saw her grip was tight, but he knew she wasn't hurting Caroline.

"You're late as usual, but that is fine." Jenn said with a small chuckle, the laugh ended with a sour sigh as she looked down at Caroline's dress.

"I don't understand why you're late, it couldn't take that long to get into so little dress." She smirked. Caroline laughed and shook her head as she pulled her wrist back, Jenn stumbled as Caroline pulled hard.

"I think you look lovely Caroline." Warren smiled. Damon ground his teeth as Warren stared right at her. His temper flared but Caroline's grip on his arm tightened and she lifted her free hand and placed it along his bicep, patting him gently. Jenn glared up at Warren and when he glared back at her she turned her hateful eyes on Caroline.

"I will see you later Jenn." Caroline smiled and pulled Damon along as they went further into the home. Damon led Caroline into the large room that served as a dancing area.

"Fancy a dance?" he asked wiggling his eyebrows.

"Yes." She smiled as he pulled her onto the floor and the music started. They followed the formation, spinning and dancing in step with everyone else. Damon placed his hand along her waist and they turned around each other before switching partners. Damon looked at the other girl briefly before his eyes turned back to Caroline. The steps were simple and he knew them all. Caroline looked up at him and they stared at each other while they danced with their other partners briefly. When they came back together she smiled up at him.

"You know I dislike dancing around for other's pleasure." She said nodding toward the door. Damon glanced back; Warren was standing there staring forward at them. Damon turned back to Caroline as the song ended.

"What are you thinking?" Caroline asked as they headed away from the floor. Caroline opened her mouth to say something else but Jenn came out of nowhere and ran right into Caroline, spilling her red drink all over Caroline's dress. Caroline gasped and looked down at her dress.

Caroline hissed under her breath. Damon knew it had been on purpose, Jenn had always wanted to get back at Caroline for her husband's unwanted advances.

"Oh my word, I am so sorry." Jenn said with a smug smirk. Caroline was close to snapping, Damon could tell she was on the verge of attaching Jenn. His hand wrapped tightly around her waist and he pulled her backward.

"Come on, we will get you cleaned up." he smiled and pulled her along. She was glaring at Jenn until he pushed her into the kitchen.

"That…that…oh I am going to kill her." Caroline growled and pointed toward the general area where she was. Damon smiled and looked over his shoulder.

"I have a better idea." he said. Caroline looked up at him and her deep frown slowly turned into a small smile and her eyebrows lifted.

"Dinner?" she asked as her eyes darkened. Damon grinned widely and he nodded.

* * *

Damon watched from a chair as Caroline walked toward Warren, her hips swayed heavily as she approached him. Damon sipped the whiskey from his glass as Caroline put her hands across Warren's chest. She smiled and leaned in, whispering something sweet he was sure. Damon smirked, sometimes he thought her mind was a little more morbid than his. She enjoyed her fun, very much, and now that Jenn had harmed her, she wanted it to be as painful for her as possible. She would not compel them, she would lure them in. Warren grinned, it was a huge, dirty grin and then he nodded. Caroline stood still as he turned and rushed up the staircase toward the rooms. Caroline turned and looked toward the edge of the room, her sights were set on Jenn now. She walked past Damon and puckered her lips at him, blowing a small kiss as she came up to Jenn. Damon listened in.

"Oh Caroline, let me apologize again for the drink." She smiled.

"It is no problem Jenn. It was of course an accident, but I do need to ask you something really private." She smiled Jenn glanced back at her friend and smiled.

"You can ask me here Caroline." She said. Damon watched with interest as Caroline leaned in close and pursed her lips.

"Actually, it is about Warren, I do not want anyone to overhear." She said. Jenn's mouth fell open slightly as she nodded as Caroline took her wrist and headed up the staircase. She threw a look in Damon's direction, he stood and placed his glass down as he followed behind them. Damon was on their heels as Caroline pushed the door open and shoved Jenn inside. Warren stood stunned as Caroline and Damon entered the room. Jenn turned around and her eyes widened.

"What is going on?" she asked hurriedly. Damon and Caroline smiled to each other and then faced the pair, their eyes darkened and their fangs elongated, pushing through their gums.

"What…what…" Warren and Jenn stuttered, but was not able to say anything else as they rushed forward. Caroline grabbed Jenn and sank her fangs into her neck, biting hard as blood ran down. Damon grabbed Warren and did the same. They'd been waiting for this chance forever. Within minutes they dropped them, letting both of them go. Jenn and Warren fell to the ground, their eyes fluttering up at the ceiling, their necks beginning to clot up and the bleeding slowly stopping. Caroline's fangs sunk back into her gums and she leaned over Warren, she jerked his head up and looked into his eyes.

"Return to the party. This never happened, I left after Jenn spilled her drink on me. Tomorrow you will go to the bank and take all of your money, you will put it in a bag and tie it to your best horse, then you will have one of your attendants bring the horse to my house. Afterward you and Jenn will leave town and never return." she said slowly. She dropped him and turned to Jenn, grabbing her up.

"Return to the party. This never happened, I left after you spilled your drink on me. You will not question your husband's choices tomorrow, you will accept it all and do whatever he says." Caroline released her and faced Damon.

"Let's go." she said with a small smile. She reached up and used her hand to wipe away the blood from her mouth and neck. Damon followed, leaving the pair on the floor, they would stand up soon, and then they would do as Caroline said. He wiped his mouth and they headed down the stairs. Damon nodded to the man by the door to fetch their carriage and they headed outside. Caroline was waiting, a small smile on her face.

"Are you happy?" he asked walking up behind her. She turned and threw her arms around his neck.

"I am very happy Damon. And tomorrow, we will enjoy being rich and we will leave town as well." she said.

"Where will we go?" he asked.

"I've always wanted to travel to Europe." She said. Damon grinned and looked down at her.

"Then that is where we will go." he said.

"Together." she smiled.

"Always." He whispered as their lips pressed together.


	9. Chapter 9

**I am so happy to be done with finals! I have been studying and working for two weeks and now i'm done and back to writing! Thank you all for sticking with me, and enjoy the next chapter!**

**P.S.- You may have noticed that we've skipped ahead a good many years, don't worry, there will be some flashbacks through the rest of the story. **

* * *

**Chapter 9**

**Year: 1890**

"So you two are married?" the young waitress asked Caroline as she and Damon sat side by side in a secluded booth in the back of a large bar. Caroline looked at Damon and smirked as she shook her head.

"No, but we've been partners for a long time." She said with a chuckle. The waitress grinned and sat their drinks down.

"Like partners in marriage or something else…" she asked.

"More like partners in crime." Damon smirked at the young girl. Caroline watched as she reacted to his lovely stare down. The waitress swallowed hard and laughed her nervousness off. As she turned, Caroline reached out and caught her wrist, the girl gasped as Caroline leaned in.

"Forget we are here, you never saw us." Caroline whispered. The girl nodded slowly and walked away. Damon glanced quickly at Caroline, her eyes were shifting back and forth quickly, her body rigged, she was worried about something.

"What's wrong?" he asked scooting closer to her.

"We need to leave." She said hurriedly.

"Why?" Damon asked looking around, trying to see what she saw.

"I smell something. We have to go." she said grabbing his hand. He followed without much choice as she pulled him out of the bar. Once on the road outside she turned toward their home and raced away. She burst through the door and shoved Damon toward the stairs.

"Pack our things, I'll be back." she said slamming the door. Damon wanted to chase after her, but he didn't, he did what she said, he turned and ran up the stairs of the temporary home. He grabbed their bags and began stuffing their clothing inside.

"Mr. Salvatore, is something wrong?" one of the maids said coming into the room. He turned to her.

"Tell Frank and Douglas to get the horses and carriage ready. After that, gather everyone in the main room." he said. She nodded and hurried off as he continued stuffing clothes in bags. This was not the first time they'd had to flee one of their various homes. Damon had slipped up and forgotten to compel a girl after feeding from her, she'd told the town and they'd had to run, but not before compelling the girl to forget everything. They'd still left though, they never stayed anywhere long. He closed the bags and grabbed them up, rushing down the stairs, the front door opened and Caroline was there.

"Frank and Douglas are getting the carriage, everyone is gathering in the main room." he said. Caroline nodded and she jerked her head.

"You handle Frank and Douglas, I'll handle the others." She said. He nodded and rushed toward the waiting carriage. He quickly tossed the bags inside and turned to Frank and Douglas, before they could speak he compelled them both to forget everything and go back to the barn. They walked away slowly as Caroline came rushing out of the house, holding her large flowing dress up. Damon held out his hand and helped her up into the carriage and he climbed in front, grabbing the reins of the horses.

"Go through the woods." She instructed. Damon nodded and hit the horses, they snorted and grumbled but took off quickly. Damon glanced over his shoulder at Caroline as they entered the woods. She was looking back at the town, as if she feared something might come after them.

"Are you going to tell me what you smelled?" he asked. Caroline turned to him and climbed up next to him.

"Someone I used to know." she said looking in front of them. He could tell she was not in a talking mood, but he wanted to know who was so scary that they had to flee so fast.

"The man who turned you?" Damon asked. He'd always known that she did not like to talk about the man who had turned her. Anytime he'd brought it up, a certain sadness had come into her eyes. He knew she didn't hate him, he had a feeling that she'd once cared for him deeply. She shook her head and looked at him.

"No, not the man that turned me…his father." She said. Damon nearly stopped the carriage. He knew she was old, and he knew the person that turned her was old, but he didn't know that there was something older than them.

"And he is dangerous?" Damon asked. Caroline nodded and slipped her arm into his.

"He is very dangerous." She said carefully. Damon nodded, he could sense she didn't want to talk about this anymore, he knew she was done, so he stopped questioning, and he continued to move along.

* * *

**Year: 1892**

Caroline sat in a bar, her mind reeling, Mikael was getting close, she'd heard through the grapevine that he'd become a vampire hunter, hunting and killing the very thing that he was. He was dangerous, but he wasn't hunting her and he wasn't hunting Damon. She had a sinking feeling that he was hunting Niklaus. Her heart hurt at the mention of his name, and here she was thinking all her emotions were slipping away. However much her heart hurt, Niklaus was a distant memory, but no matter how distant the memory, she still recalled every single moment of her life with him, every kiss, every touch, every perfect moment. He had been her husband, the father of her child, the man she'd loved. Except she was with Damon now, and comparing the two men would be like trying to compare a hard bar stool and a soft cushioned seat. The two were nothing alike, both were seats yes, but not at all similar. While both of them were men, their personalities were opposite. Caroline loved both men, in what she felt was an equal way. If both men were in her life now and she had to choose between the two, she could not imagine how she'd do it. Her heart belonged to Damon just like it belonged to Nik. She'd never forget either man. She finished her drink and climbed off the bar stool, she'd had one too many drinks. She walked around the back and toward the home she shared with Damon, she was nearly there when something hit her nose, it was coming from inside their barn. She felt her fangs extend, hurting as they pushed through her gums. She raced into the barn and stopped suddenly, a girl, young, maybe twenty was there, her arm bleeding. She'd cut it on something, but Caroline did not care, her heart raced, her body lunged forward, the alcohol in her system was controlling her, she couldn't stop herself. She grabbed the girl and bit into her throat, blood ran down her face as she drank in huge gulps. 'Stop it Caroline, stop it!' she was screaming at herself, but she couldn't stop. She ripped away, falling to the ground and dropping the girl. Her body was on fire, she could barely move, she felt awful. She jumped to her feet and rushed to the girl. Her fingers scrambled across her throat, to make sure she was still alive. She was, her pulse was easy under Caroline's fingers. She breathed a sigh of relief as she lifted the girl's face.

"I was never here, you stumbled and cut your neck along with your arm. You don't remember a thing." She whispered. She stood and raced away, out of the barn, into her house, and up to her room. She slammed her door and fell to the ground. She couldn't believe what she'd done, that girl, that poor girl. She'd never hurt someone that did not deserve it, that girl had been hurt. She'd always compelled people before she drank from them, except for a few that she wanted to hurt, but she could not imagine having her neck ripped at because someone was out of control. Damon was there in front of her now. He was on his knees, pulling her close.

"What's wrong? Who did you feed on?" he asked pulling her face up.

"The girl who keeps the horses, she'd cut her arm. I couldn't stop myself." she said shaking her head.

"Did you kill her?" he asked softly. Caroline shook her head back and forth slowly.

"She is alive." She said. Damon breathed a sigh of relief and pulled her into his arms, dragging her up out of the floor and pulling her to sit on the bed.

"I can't do this anymore. I can't hurt people like this. I need more control." She said shaking her head.

"We have not eaten in days, you were hungry, it was an accident. We have to remember to eat, if we do not eat then we make mistakes." Damon said. Caroline nodded along with his words and then she looked up at him.

"No more innocent lives Damon." She said, her blue eyes meeting his.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"No more innocent people, we cannot feed from anymore innocent people." She said.

"Then who should we feed on?" he asked. She pursed her lips and her eyes shifted quickly before they came back to his.

"Criminals, people who have done bad things. We can drink from them." she said.

"Are you suggesting we break into the jail every time we are hungry?" he asked. She shook her head quickly.

"No, you can tell when people are criminals, the wanted posters, the everyday bar people that we run into that commit crimes on a daily basis, and sometimes, if we are desperate, we can compel the sheriff to let us take a sip." She said. Damon smirked and nodded.

"Ok Caroline. No more innocents." He said. She tossed her arms around him and pulled him close, kissing him gently at first. Damon smiled against her lips and deepened the kiss, pulling her body against his. Her hands sank into his hair, pulling his head back as she crawled across his lap and pushed him back onto the bed. He grinned as she sat up, tugging away her dress as fast as she could. She tossed it to the ground and they began working away his clothes, they came off quickly with two pairs of hands and speed. Their lips returned to one another and they kissed slow and sweet. They crawled further onto the bed, Caroline rolled on top of Damon, spreading her legs across his body. He felt himself growing underneath her bottom. She smiled and dipped down, kissing across his neck, gently pressing her lips to his collar bone and down over his chest, her tongue flicked out, tracing around his nipple slowly. He shivered as her tongue and mouth traveled further down, sliding over his stomach, around his belly button, and down his abdomen. He jerked away, grabbing her and pulling her under him as he climbed on top of her. He grabbed her hands and pulled them above her head, holding them there as he dropped his lips to her neck. She could easily pull away from him, but she didn't. He nibbled on her neck gently and then dropped down to her breasts, his mouth covered each one slowly, licking and sucking, she moaned and arched up into him. When she did, he entered her, pushing himself into her quickly. She cried out and lifted her legs, wrapping them around the backs of his thighs as he pushed into her over and over. Her hips moved with his, both of them moving together, he released her hands and planted his firmly next to her. Her hands wrapped around his back and she lifted her mouth to his shoulder, kissing, biting, sucking. His paced picked up and she began to moan loudly in his ear, which only spurred him on.

"Damon…Damon." She whispered his name and then tipped over, her teeth sank into his shoulder and she shook against him. He hissed in pain and went right behind her, jerking inside her and finding his release. He sank down next to her and they curled around each other.

"How much longer do you think we'll have this?" he asked.

"Have what?" Caroline asked.

"All of this, the money, the houses, the travelling, each other." He said.

"Nothing lasts forever Damon. That I know for certain. But we have it all now, so let's live in the now, not in the future." She smiled. He chuckled and nodded as their lips came together again.

* * *

**Year: 1894**

Caroline and Damon raced through the woods, chasing a man they'd been after for days. He was a bad man, someone Caroline had a personal vendetta against. He'd taken one of their workers earlier in the week, a young girl, she'd been found yesterday, she'd been beaten and her body had been violated. Caroline had been furious, she was livid and he knew she would hurt this man. They stopped suddenly as they smelled him. He was down toward the bottom of the trees. Damon glanced toward her, he would let her have him, he'd eaten early today, one of this man's lackeys, they raced forward and Caroline was on him before he knew it. She grabbed him up and glared at him.

"You bastard." She said, her hand clenching around his throat. He coughed and his eyes widened down at her.

"What are you?" he choked out.

"You hurt my girl. Now I'm going to hurt you." she said jerking him to her. She ripped into his throat, Damon smelled the blood as it ran into her mouth, some down the side of her cheeks. He smirked and stood back as the man grunted and tried to move, but she was too strong. Within a few seconds she'd dropped him to the ground below. She leaned over him and looked right into his eyes.

"We've never met, this never happened. You and all your idiot friends will leave this town and never return. You will take every last dime that you have and give it to Nikki and her family. Understood?" she asked. He nodded slowly and she moved away from him.

"Why didn't you kill him?" Damon asked. Caroline glanced over her shoulder and shook her head.

"I'm not killing anyone anymore Damon. I thought you understood that." she said.

"I do, but he deserves it." Damon said.

"Yes he does, but I'm not a judge, and I won't put him to death." She said. Damon nodded as she took his hand and they headed back toward town.

* * *

Caroline lay in bed next to Damon later that night, her hands wrapped around his bicep, his running up and down her legs softly.

"Well at least Nikki and her mother will finally have some money. I never even noticed the poor girl. She was always so quiet." Caroline said. Damon nodded and ran his fingertips gently across her thigh.

"She is a sweet girl." Damon said.

"She will be ok. She's strong." Caroline nodded. Damon turned and faced her.

"I want you to tell me something, just one thing about the man that changed you." he said. Caroline looked deeply into his eyes.

"Is this something you have to hear?" she asked.

"No, but I want to hear it. I want you to be comfortable enough to share it with me." he said. Caroline nodded and opened her mouth to speak but a loud shriek broke through the silent night. Caroline leapt up and jerked open the curtains of the window. It was wide open to let the cool night air in. There were people streaming out of the local bar as it went up in flames, five men stood outside, grabbing each person that came out and shaking them, yelling something at them. Caroline listened, "Where are the people who drink human blood?" they were saying. Caroline scanned the men and she immediately spotted Mikael. She ripped away from the window and turned to Damon.

"We have to leave, now!" she yelled grabbing the large bags of money they kept under the bed, just in case. She grabbed up her small bag of clothes and Damon grabbed his. Her hand wrapped in his as they raced down the staircase.

"Miss Caroline, the bar is on fire!" one of the maids said as she ran out of the kitchen. Caroline nodded and turned toward their backdoor.

"Forget we were ever here. You have never met us." She said to her.

"Go compel the others. I'll take care of everyone in the house." She said. They raced away from one another, Caroline could feel the men coming closer, as she rushed through the house, compelling everyone she ran into. She rushed out the back door and Damon was waiting. He held his hand out and she grabbed him as she heard her front door burst open. Damon moved to run but she stopped him.

"We cannot go together." she said softly. Her heart was breaking all over again, she had to let him go. Here and now they had to part.

"What?" he asked looking back at her.

"These men are better trackers than you've ever seen. We'll be easy to track together, separate they'll never find us. Damon we cannot go on. This is our future." She said as tears began rolling down her cheeks.

"No, no, we'll be fine, as long as we're together." he pulled her, but she jerked her wrist away.

"I cannot come with you knowing our lives will be at risk, I cannot live knowing you are dead Damon. Just go, we will meet again, someday." She said softly as the men ran through their house, searching, they had seconds left. Damon closed his eyes and nodded. Caroline's heart broke, she sobbed and tears ran down quickly as he grabbed her in his arms and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"I would not be able to live if you died either. Someday, we will be together again." He said looking down at her. Caroline grabbed him and their lips crashed together quickly, the kiss was fast, deep, and left them breathless.

"Promise me one thing." She said as their foreheads rested together.

"Anything." He said.

"Live your life, forget me, don't spend your eternity searching, be happy Damon." She said looking toward the door.

"I promise." He said.

"I love you Caroline." He said.

"I love you too Damon." She whispered. She heard them coming and they broke apart.

"Go, now." she said to him. He turned and ran, Caroline watched his retreating back and she put her hand over her heart, she thought they were forever, always together, but nothing lasts forever.


	10. Chapter 10

**Now we get into the story. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 10: Present**

Elena sat on Rebekah's overly large couch, completely stunned. She'd known Damon was capable of feeling that kind of emotion, mostly because he loved Katherine, and he'd shown his love for Elena on more than one occasion, but she'd never imagined he'd had that kind of affections for anyone other than them. He'd never even mentioned this Caroline girl's name, let alone said anything about loving her. He was turned, looking out the window as he recited their story. Their many years spent together, having fun and spending money, and then those last few years, fleeing from a hunter.

"That was the last time I saw her. I searched for her as long as I could, but I meant to keep my promise to her, so after a while, I stopped looking." He said as he turned back to the group. Rebekah was now sitting, perched on the side of a chair. Her face was one Elena had never seen before, it almost looked like the girl was truly happy. Elena couldn't imagine Rebekah loving anyone the way she loved herself, but apparently she held this girl in high esteem.

"So now that we've answered the question of what Caroline has been up to, what is she doing back here?" Stefan asked. Damon shook his head.

"She never came here the whole time we were together, she never even mentioned the place." He said.

"It is her home. She was born here, grew up here, she fell in love here." Rebekah said glaring toward Damon. Elena could not help the smile that crossed her lips, it was clear that Rebekah was not interested in Damon and Caroline rekindling any sort of romance, she was strictly on Team Klaus. A loud knock on the front door echoed through the house. All their heads turned and then they all shared a glance. Usually people just walked in. Rebekah's face lit up and she rushed to the door. But instead of the delighted squeal they expected to hear, a long sigh stretched out and the click of her heels could be heard as she came back to the room. Matt was following her. His face was serious, as usual, as he approached the group.

"We have a problem." He said.

* * *

Rebekah, Damon, Stefan, Elena, and Matt stood in front of Bonnie as she paced in front of them.

"What's going on?" Stefan asked.

"Three vampires came through, less than an hour ago." Bonnie said. Stefan turned his eyes to Damon and they both frowned.

"As if we need any more problems." Rebekah said shaking her head.

"We need to find them before they get into trouble." Stefan said.

"Yeah, good plan." Damon rolled his eyes.

"As much as I'd like to stay and help, I have better things to do." Rebekah smiled and then she was gone. The others turned and hurried out the door, something was going on.

* * *

Rebekah walked back into her home, a small hum coming from her throat. It was an old song, one she recalled singing to Anna on several occasions. She smiled softly, remembering the small blonde angel that they'd all loved dearly. She turned into the room Klaus used for his paintings and she froze. Caroline was standing in the middle of the room, looking around casually at the paintings. Her long waves of blonde hair ran over her shoulders and down her back, she was wearing a pair of tight jeans, a purple halter blouse, a black leather jacket, and a pair of black boots. Rebekah opened her mouth to speak but Caroline was gone from her sight, then she felt a hard shove at her back and she stumbled forward.

"Getting slow in your old age Rebekah." The high pitched voice said. Rebekah laughed and turned to face the girl that was once her closest friend.

"You're almost as old as me." Rebekah smirked. Caroline wrapped her arms around the girl before she could say another word. Rebekah was temporarily stunned, she couldn't recall the last time she'd had a genuine hug, and Caroline's hugs had always been her favorite. Rebekah hugged her back and when they parted Rebekah held her at arm's length, looking her over.

"You look so different." She said. Caroline chuckled and nodded.

"You do to. It's been a very long time." She said.

"I thought you were dead." Rebekah said. Caroline released her and frowned.

"Why?" she asked

"The house burned down the day after Anna's death." She said. Caroline's eyes widened, and she crossed her arms.

"Nik?" she asked softly. Rebekah had to hold back the smile that wanted to come to her lips.

"He's fine, he's here, in Mystic Falls, we share this house." She said. Caroline froze, she frowned and nodded.

"I need to get going." She turned, but this time Rebekah caught her.

"Caroline please, don't go." she said. Caroline gently pulled her arm away and pursed her lips.

"Look, I didn't come to stay anyway, I was just searching for a girl, she came here last night and I needed to find her." she said. Rebekah offered a small smile, she knew who she was talking about.

"She's dead." Rebekah said. Caroline nodded and crossed her arms.

"I could have guessed, she was very independent, did not need me for anything." Caroline said.

"You turned her?" Rebekah asked. Caroline nodded and her hand clenched slightly.

"Almost a year ago. I needed to find her because something is happening to humans, something in their blood." Caroline said. Rebekah's eyes widened and she stepped closer.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Three weeks ago Jess fled, she didn't like feeding by my rules, she liked the kill, I wouldn't let her. I started searching for her, I came through a town a few states over and I was hungry, but before I could drink I ran into another vampire. He was sick, so sick. He was in an alley, almost looked homeless, he asked me for help but I didn't know how to help him. I asked if he'd been staked or hurt in some way, he just shook his head and said 'It was the blood' and then he died, right there in the ally. I didn't know what he meant, I stood there for a moment and all the veins in his body slowly became visible, bright blue against his pale skin. I turned and ran. After a few more towns I came across this incredibly bad smell, it smelled like dried blood and rotting corpses, so I followed the scent, and I came across three vampire corpses, all looked just like the man in the alley, blue veins standing out." She said. Rebekah listened intently, her mind whirling.

"I didn't have a clue what was going on, so I went to visit a friend, I knew he would know what was happening. But when I arrived at his apartment he was like the man in the alley, sick, coughing up blood, dying slowly. He gave me a better explanation though. He said humans were infected, their blood, unrecognizable to any tests or humans in general, but once a vampire feeds on the person carrying the infection, the vampire is infected and then they slowly die. He died shortly after telling me all that. It spreads fast through the humans, Jess came here to feed because no reports of vampire deaths have come from here. Yet." She said calmly.

"Oh my god." Rebekah said as she dropped down into a chair.

"I have to go now." Caroline said quickly. Rebekah jumped up.

"Wait! You can't just go Caroline." She said hurriedly. Caroline sighed and shrugged.

"Why would I stay here Bekah?" she asked.

"We're all here Caroline, me, Klaus, even Damon is here." she said. Caroline snorted and shook her head.

"How do you know about Damon?" she asked raising her brows. Rebekah shook her head, "He mentioned you two spent some time together." she said waving it off. Caroline was unsure if she'd mentioned anything about Nik to Damon, she really hoped not, but then again, she didn't want to ask. To keep from giving Rebekah false hope.

"I love you Bekah, but I don't feel about either of them the way I used to. I only came after Jess. I didn't even know any of you were here." she said.

"At least speak to Niklaus." She said. Caroline crossed her arms again and Rebekah knew she was feeling pressured.

"Just stay a few more days. You can feed, you said yourself there were no deaths here." she said. Caroline forced a smile and chuckled.

"Fine, I'll stay a few days, but only on one condition." She said.

"What?" Rebekah asked.

"You can't tell Nik I'm here." she said.

"You don't think he'll find out?" Rebekah asked raising her eyebrows.

"I hope not. Just don't tell him, ok?" she said.

"Fine, but what of Damon? He knows you are here." Rebekah rolled her eyes and sighed.

"I can handle Damon." She smirked and turned, "I'll see you before I leave." She said. Rebekah nodded as Caroline walked out the door. Rebekah wanted to tell Caroline everything, what her mother had forced Klaus to do, all of it, just so they could be together, but it wasn't her place, Klaus would find out Caroline was here, and they would talk, and kiss, and fall in love, Rebekah knew it would happen, she still believed in that sort of thing.

* * *

Elena wrapped her arms around the girl and held her as tight as she could while Damon and Stefan wrested with the two men.

"We aren't trying to hurt you." Stefan said with a small growl as the man clawed him.

"We just want to know why you're here." Elena said. They slowly stopped struggling and they were slowly released as the two men fell over in a fit of coughs. The girl rushed to them and glanced back at the group.

"They are sick. They drank bad blood." she said running her hands over the pair. Elena and Stefan glanced at each other.

"Bad blood?" Damon asked.

"The humans, there is something spreading in their blood, the males can't drink from them, they die if they do." She said as the men finally stopped coughing, small trickles of blood running from both their mouths. All their eyes were wide, confusion had set in, what the hell was happening.

"What?" Damon asked quickly. The girl turned and glared.

"If they drink blood from a human that carries the infection, they die. There is no stopping it, no cure, no help, they die. It doesn't affect the females, I don't know why, it just doesn't. We came here because we haven't heard of a vampire death from these parts yet. That's all I know, but it looks like we were wrong." she said. The coughs started again, both men hacking up blood and clenching their stomachs. Within moments their heavy breathing ceased and both men lay motionless.

"No, come on baby, Jordan, come on." The girl said shaking both men. Their skin paled quickly and their veins stood out, flashing blue lines all along their skin.

"Holy shit." Damon said slowly. He turned toward Stefan and they shared a long look.

"What the hell is going on?" Damon asked.

"Looks like you have bigger things to worry about, like finding food, because Jordan drank from one of your humans earlier, and now he's dead." The girl said softly.

"It's here." Elena whispered.

* * *

Klaus walked into his home and he smiled, it was good to be home, back from New Orleans, getting to sleep in his own bed for at least a little while. He looked around, wondering where Rebekah was. He took a deep breath and dropped his bag. A familiar scent slipped into his nose, one he had not smelled in nearly a thousand years. It couldn't be though, no, he was sure it was not her. He shook it off and walked further into the house.

"Welcome home." Rebekah said as he came into the sitting room.

"How was New Orleans?" she asked.

"The same, loud, musical, and full of drunks." He smirked and sat down. She nodded and looked around. He noticed immediately something was wrong with her. She wasn't her normal self. No questions, no describing her entire day to him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Blood, the humans are carrying some infection. It kills vampires, quickly." She said. Klaus sat up quickly and the scent drifted back into his nose, he shook his head quickly, trying to get it out.

"What?" Rebekah asked raising her brows. He frowned, not wanting to tell her that he smelled Caroline, he smelled her everywhere in his house. He had days like this sometimes, he couldn't get her out of his head on occasion. Sometimes he thought he saw her, walking along the road, drinking a glass of wine at a bar, but it was never her. Smelling her was something he'd lived with for years and years, he would never forget the way she'd smelled or the way she'd laughed. But he couldn't deal with that now, according to his sister, something serious was happening.

"Nothing. What are you going on about?" he asked. She sat down across from him and leaned forward.

"Vampires are dying Nik, the blood they are drinking is bad, it spreads fast through humans, some kind of infection. Who knows, but we have to be careful, there are no signs or symptoms from the humans." She said. He sat back and frowned deeply, his mind working fast.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to find a test subject." He smirked.

"A test subject?" she asked.

"Yes, so we can figure out just how this infection works." He said. Rebekah nodded slowly and sat back again. It was killing her not telling him, but she'd made a promise, and she didn't need Nik running after Caroline right now, as much as she wanted them back together, they had bigger things to worry about.


	11. Chapter 11

**Short chapter, story progression, etc...enjoy!**

**Chapter 11**

Caroline walked through the hospital, almost undetected by the nurses running around, all doing their jobs. She ducked into a small room that housed the blood, she could smell it as soon as she'd entered the hospital. Her hair was pulled up into a tight bun as she opened the bag she'd carried in. She jerked open the fridge and began to go through all the blood, those that were labeled a few months back, she took, any recent ones, she left. When the bag was full, she closed the door and hurried out of the hospital, speeding past everyone until she was out of the street. She needed to find a place to stay. Preferably one that belonged to a human, better to keep the other vampires away.

* * *

Klaus walked toward the bar, he needed to alert the Salvatores to the unfortunate situation at hand. Because if something were to happen where he became infected and died, then they too would die, and as much as he wanted to just go home and figure this out, he would let them know. His hand wrapped around the door handle when a strong scent caught him, he whipped his head around and there she was, Caroline, her blonde hair pulled back tight. His mouth dropped open, but he had to stop himself before he ran after her, he'd thought he'd seen her before, but each time it had not been her, just his imagination. He closed his eyes briefly, wishing away the memories. When he reopened them the blonde dream was gone. He ground his teeth in frustration, just once he'd hoped the gods above would take pity and allow it to really be her. Was she even still alive? It had been nearly 1000 years, he didn't have the slightest clue if she was alive, or if she'd perished long ago. He huffed and walked into the bar.

* * *

Rebekah sat cross legged on the couch, Elena across from her, seated as well while Stefan walked around in circles.

"Where did you get these men and women?" Stefan asked.

"Various jails, no one will ever miss them, no families, horrible criminal backgrounds." Rebekah said. Even though she could care less whom they did their experiments on, she knew the self righteous trio might make it more difficult had they been just little Mystic Falls citizens.

"Still not right." Elena said shaking her head.

"They were all on death row, sentenced to die anyway. The three men raped and murder several young girls, the woman is convicted of killing her children. One was less than a month old. Would you rather drink from someone who has been infected and die, or figure this out so we can survive? Don't lie and say your life is less special than those people in that room." Rebekah glared. Elena backed down and nodded, she knew Rebekah was right.

"It is the only way." Stefan said. They all looked up as Klaus came out of the room, Damon behind him.

"It's done." Damon said. They all stood and walked into the room where Klaus was keeping the experiments, as they had been named. Regular names made connections, and connections were not needed for this. Each one was tied by each wrist to a table, holding them firmly in place. Their vicious hisses and black eyes were all Elena needed to keep her distance, and in the corner, stood a girl, compelled into a stupor. She was human and apparently she carried the infection. According to the girl who'd arrived in town with the two men who'd died.

"I am going to let one of the men and the woman feed off the girl." Klaus said. They nodded and watched as he led the girl to the first man, he bit into her neck quickly, the girl made no sound as he drank some of her blood. Klaus removed her within seconds and moved down to the woman who did the same. After Klaus sat the girl down in a chair they all watched. Within minutes the male began showing signs of infection, his skin paling, his veins beginning to show slightly, a coughing took over. The female showed no signs, no pale skin, no veins, no coughing. She was fine, and as the male got even more sick, the female remained fine.

"I guess the girl was right, it doesn't affect the females." Klaus said. Elena and Rebekah breathed sighs of relief. They were out of the woods for now. However, both women were still worried, Elena for Damon and Stefan, Rebekah for her brother.

"So we know how it works, one sip and you die within hours. Now we need to find a way to get around it." Klaus said. Klaus made sure the girl who was infected was seated across the room before they all left the room to rack their brains for an answer. Rebekah fell onto the couch and sighed.

"How do you get blood, and not become infected?" she said tapping her chin sarcastically.

"Could always use blood bags." Elena shrugged.

"Would have to use older ones, before the infection, eventually all the old ones would run out and we'd be down to the new ones, which would all be infected." Stefan said.

"Animals?" Stefan shrugged. Klaus looked up, "And if they are infected also?" he asked.

"Only one way to find out." Damon said.

* * *

An hour later they all stood outside the room again. The door was open and on the floor lay a dead rabbit, in front of it, a man dying slowly.

"We're going to die." Klaus chuckled and shook his head, "After all these years I wouldn't imagine an infection would be what would kill me." he smirked.

"If you were still human you might have died from infection a long time ago. I'm thinking one of a sexual nature." Damon grinned. Klaus glared as they continued to bounce ideas off one another, each one getting rejected because of different factors. They were beginning to think that the men would just have to suffer their fate, that each one would eventually feed from something that was infected, and they would die. Two of the men in the room lay dead on the floor by the time night finally rolled around, and Stefan quickly sat up in his seat.

"When you're driving and you come up on a wreck, what happens?" he asked quickly, a smile appearing on his face. They all looked toward him, their eyebrows bunching together, worried that his sanity had flown out the window.

"Just go with me here, what happens?" he asked again.

"Usually a police officer or someone directs you around the accident." Elena answered.

"Exactly, what if we could go around the infection, bypass it completely?" he asked.

"How?" Rebekah asked. Stefan leapt up and rushed into the room, the woman was still alive, perfectly healthy, and they were down to one man.

"Let her drink from the girl again." He said. Klaus lifted the infected girl and placed her in front of the female, she sank her fangs into the girl's neck and drank, Klaus allowed her to drink a good bit before he removed the girl.

"Rebekah, what is the time you have for infection to set in?" Stefan asked.

"Three minutes till the skin becomes pale, seven minutes when the veins begin to appear, and ten minutes when they begin coughing." She said.

"Give it ten minutes." Stefan said. The group stood and watched the girl, like they'd done the first time, after ten long minutes, she showed no sign of infection.

"Now, we let him drink from her." Stefan said pulling the female vampire toward the healthy male vampire. He placed her under him and he latched onto her neck, drinking her blood down, the same way she'd done the girls. Stefan let him drink for a few minutes before he pulled her back, she fell to the ground, not dead, just passed out.

"And we wait." He said. They watched carefully, the three minute mark came and his skin color remained the same, at seven minutes there was no sign of blue veins, and then the ten minute mark came and no coughing. They waited longer, standing around, pacing, watching as the male stood, perfectly healthy, and showing no signs of infection. They sat, and watched, they talked, and watched, finally when the sun rose the next morning and no sign of infection showed, smiles began to appear. He was healthy, he was fine.

"I think we just figured out how to survive this." Elena said. They all nodded along, each was happy, they would live, but Klaus and Rebekah were hesitant to celebrate, because if drinking from a female vampire was the only way to get their food, then they all faced a problem. Bloodletting was a very intimate and private thing between vampires; Elena could feed one brother, because otherwise problems would arise quickly, jealousy, hatred, envy. And Rebekah, as much as she wanted to help, would never be able to feed Klaus, that was an intimate thing, and as much as he loved his sister, he did not love her in that way and never would. If it came to life and death however, sacrifices might have to be made.


	12. Chapter 12

**Keep it up guys! I love you all for your reviews!**

**Chapter 12**

Caroline stepped out of the shower and walked out of the bathroom, into the small house she'd found. The young girl who owned it was a Junior College student and very sweet. Caroline had easily been invited in when she said her car had broken down and she needed to use a phone. The girl was in the living room, Caroline had instructed her to go about her normal everyday activities as if she was not here, so that is what she was doing. Caroline shook her hair out and ran the towel through it before she wrapped the towel around her body. A loud knocking on the door brought her head up. She felt her heart rate pick up and she prayed that Rebekah had kept her promise and not told Nik where she was. She gripped the towel and walked to the front door. She wasn't much worried though, this house was owned by a human, no one could get in unless she wanted them too. She turned the lock and twisted the knob and pulled the door open.

"How did you find me?" she asked when she saw the face in front of her.

"You're not that hard to find. It's a small town. I knew you'd find a human to let you in. Can't move in with a family, parents are too worried about their children to invite a stranger in, albeit a gorgeous, doe eyed, blonde haired, blue eyed, stranger. So that leaves a single person home, but, you'd need to find someone who doesn't have many visitors, not really any friends, so all I had to do was ask one of my dear friends who in town is not a social butterfly and likes to stay home. She gave me a very concise list, maybe four names of people who she has never met because they rarely leave their homes. I start paying visits, two people in and bam, here you are." He smirked. Caroline leaned against the door frame, still holding her towel in place. She could not help but smile at him.

"I didn't think it was possible for someone to become even more of a cocky ass, but you've succeeded in surpassing my expectations as usual Damon." She said. He smiled at her, his adorable lop sided smile and she grinned back at him, he was still charming, and still wonderfully handsome. Even more handsome than she recalled, but then again she hadn't seen him in a very long time. Her memories of him flashed through her brain. The running from town to town, the spending money here and there, drinking when they felt like it, having sex when the felt like it, doing whatever they pleased. His hair had changed, his clothing, but so had hers.

"Are you going to have the girl invite me in?" he asked nodding to the living room where she was.

"Not so sure about that Damon. I'd never be able to keep you out if I did." She said.

"Well if you don't then I could just go tell your husband where you are." He said wiggling his eyebrows. Caroline froze.

"How do you know about that?" she asked, she wanted to sigh, of course Rebekah had shared.

"Rebekah." She said. Damon nodded and crossed his arms.

"Invite me in, or I go tell Klaus." He said.

"I never knew you to be the threatening type Damon. I guess you've changed." She said as she turned to go into the living room. She was fuming, how dare he threaten her. What the hell had happened to him? She leaned down to the girl, "Go to the door and invite that man inside, then go back to what you're doing." she said. The girl nodded and slipped past Caroline. Caroline turned and crossed her arms as the girl spoke, "Please, Come in." she said waving him forward. Damon smirked and stepped through the door, closing it behind him as the girl returned to the couch. Caroline turned on her heel and walked into the kitchen where there was a table. Damon followed as Caroline perched on the table and her arms remained crossed as he came into the room.

"Don't give me that look." He said. Caroline glared, "What look?" she asked.

"The one you are giving me now. That pouty, angry glare that usually helps you get your way." He said. Caroline knew what he was talking about, but the look remained on her face.

"Caroline." He started, but she interrupted, "How dare you threaten me? We have not seen each other in over 100 years, and the first talk we have, you threaten me." she said as mean as she could. He frowned and looked at her, his bright blue eyes sinking into hers.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that." he said. Caroline softened slightly and her arms loosened, but remained crossed.

"What are you doing here Damon?" she asked.

"I want to know why you're here." he said. Caroline sighed, she felt like she'd already had this conversation.

"I was looking for a girl I turned about a year ago. Her name was Jess, I followed her here. Rebekah told me she is dead though, she couldn't follow rules, couldn't feed in a good way. She was going to die sooner rather than later." Caroline said. Damon pursed his lips, he didn't know Caroline had sired Jess.

"Have you heard about the infection?" he asked. Caroline nodded and jerked her head to the fridge.

"Have enough blood bags to last me a few weeks. Don't know what I'll do after that, but I'll figure it out." She said.

"Well it turns out the infection doesn't just exist in humans, it is in the animals too, the uninfected blood bags will run out, but you don't have much to worry about, infection doesn't affect the females, for some reason it only affects the male population." He said. Caroline sat up off the table, her arms came uncrossed.

"How do you know that?" she asked.

"Well, let's just say that your husband did a little testing." Damon said.

"First of all, let's get something straight, he's not my husband. Hasn't been in a very very long time, and what do you mean testing?" she asked.

"To make a long story short, he turned some very bad people into vampires, let them feed from an infected human, and we figured out a way around this." he said. Caroline felt slightly disgusted, but then, before she crossed onto the path of condemning people, she remembered she'd killed her fair share of people, most by accident, survival was on all vampires' minds right now, and she knew they had to do whatever needed to be done.

"And the results?" she asked.

"Females don't become infected, they don't get sick. After some quick thinking on my brother's part, he came up with an idea. We let the female vampire feed from the infected again, and after feeding from her, we let the male vampire drink from the female vampire. We waited and waited, but he showed no signs of infection and still hasn't. Turns out, there's a little glitch in the infection." Damon smirked.

"Lucky us." Caroline said, she was happy, very happy that her species would not die out slowly because of some infection, but questions still probed at her mind.

"Have you found someone to feed from?" she asked. Damon pursed his lips and smirked.

"Well that is complicated." He said.

"How so?" Caroline asked.

"Kind of a small triangle deal going on. She likes me, she likes my brother, we both like her, you know how it goes." He shrugged. Caroline closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Bloodletting is intimate Damon. You cannot both feed from her, you'll kill each other over her." she said.

"Any suggestions are welcome." He grinned and for the first time his eyes ran down her body and she suddenly felt self conscious.

"Let me get dressed real quick." She said moving to go grab her clothes. Damon's hand caught her wrist softly, and a tingle ran through her body. She hadn't felt his touch in so long.

"I'd say I could feed from you, but then there's the matter of Klaus." He said. Caroline jerked her wrist away and turned to him.

"It would appear I'm a point in a triangle of love once again." He said, his eyes twinkled and Caroline glared.

"There's no love triangle here Damon. I don't love you or Nik anymore. I haven't in a very long time." She said. Damon was fast, she was against the wall in an instant, his left hand pinning her hands above her head, his right hand dropped to her lips and he ran his thumb over her mouth, she shivered under his touch. She could easily pull away, but she didn't want to, she couldn't think straight as his hand gripped the back of her neck, his thumb rubbing ever so softly over her lips.

"Time doesn't change love Caroline. You married Klaus, you had a child together, you lost a child together. We spent twenty eight years together Caroline, we lived, loved, and had a wild time. That love doesn't go away. We may have all changed, but we can still feel, and I feel you Caroline. Your heart racing, your skin tingling, your breath hitching. You feel it too Caroline, don't lie and say you don't." he said. He was right, her breath was hitching, she was tingling, before a second thought could cross her mind she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. His hand released her wrists and she dropped them to his shoulders, gripping them tightly. One of his hands held her waist firmly while the other held the back of her neck, pulling her closer as his tongue slipped into her mouth. She moaned against his lips, she wanted him, but something pressed against her, she barely knew who he was now and then there was Nik, she wanted him, but she was stronger than that. She shoved against him, pushing him away from her.

"Don't ever do that again." She said wiping her mouth where he'd kissed her. He smirked and nodded.

"Fine, but you know we're going to need your help here Caroline, one way or another we'll need you." he said turning for the door. She watched his retreating back as he opened the door, he turned and smiled again.

"I'll tell your husband you said hello." He grinned. Caroline growled and raced toward him, but he was already gone. She grabbed the door and slammed it, throwing her fists against it in frustration.

"Son of a bitch!" she yelled. She had no clue if he'd really tell Nik she was here or not. But her best bet was just to leave, pack her things and go. Damon had said himself she didn't have to worry about the infection, nothing was keeping her here. If that was the case though, then why was she still here, standing against the door. Why wasn't she already packing her things and rushing away. Was it because Damon was right? She knew they were going to need her. From the information she'd gathered, there were not many vampires here for them to feed from, and she couldn't stand by and let them die. She'd have to help, which meant she'd have to see them again. She'd have to see Damon again, but worst of all, she'd have to see Niklaus again.


	13. Chapter 13

**So I decided to give you all a little love on this Memorial Day. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 13**

Caroline shimmied into the black jeans and she pulled on the bright pink tight fitting blouse, she slipped her feet into a pair of black heels and fanned her wavy hair out over her shoulders, after a quick mirror check she headed out the front door. It had been two days since Damon had visited, she needed and wanted to look her best, she'd always prided herself on her appearance, and when she was going to see people she hadn't met yet, as well as men she'd spent years with, then she wanted to look good. Plus it had been hundreds of years, maybe he'd forgotten what she looked like. As she walked toward the Mikaelson home, her pulse quickened. Her feelings for Nik had not changed since 1020, she still loved the man more than she could even comprehend, but she also still despised him for casting her away like garbage. After almost 1000 years she'd nearly forgotten all the emotions she'd felt that night, she barely even felt her heart sink in sadness when she thought of Anna. After years and years of living with sadness and hate, she'd had to let it go, let it sink away, because she couldn't bear living with that any longer. People where wrong when they said 'Time heals all wounds' because it doesn't. If a wound is deep enough, the cut or gash long enough it will eventually heal over, but the scar is still there, a constant and ugly reminder of what you've been through, the pain and heartache that came along with the injury, and every once in a while the scar tissue flares up and you feel a touch of pain, but then it is gone, just as fast as it came. That is how Caroline felt, as if she carried two ugly scars, one from the loss of her child, the other from the betrayal by her husband. They didn't hurt often, they barely even hurt at all, but once in a blue moon, something would bring back her memories, and she'd hurt and feel that pain, all over again.

She approached the home and turned the knob, not much need for knocking here, she could come and go as she pleased. She walked through the door and instantly picked up on voices. They were coming from the sitting area. She walked through the home, her heels barely making a sound on the wood floor beneath her as she rounded the corner and came into the room. There were four people here, two she recognized, Damon and Rebekah, two she did not know. A male with brown spiked hair, tall, well built, handsome face, similar to Damon's, must be his brother. Then the girl, standing between Damon and his brother, her long brown hair hung straight down her back, some parted over her shoulders, she had a cute round face, with eyes that Caroline could tell held depth and soulfulness. All their eyes turned to her and they stopped talking, stopped moving.

"Sorry to interrupt." Caroline gave her best attempt at a small wave.

"No, no, come in." Rebekah waved her forward. Caroline stepped down to their heights and she stopped in front of them.

"Caroline Forbes, this is Stefan Salvatore, and Elena Gilbert." Rebekah said nodding to them.

"Nice to meet you both." Caroline said. Elena smiled, a sweet, kind smile, Caroline immediately liked her, she could tell that even though the girl was a vampire, she still carried a kind heart. Stefan nodded curtly, he was quiet and stoic, Caroline felt he would be a trustful man once he opened up. Unlike his brother whom Caroline desperately wanted to punch.

"Don't stop on my account, please, continue." Caroline said. The group nodded and went back at each other.

"We need to sort out this feeding mess. The only female vampires in town are Elena, Rebekah, and Caroline, there are three males, Me, Damon, and Klaus, one for each, no issue." Stefan said.

"There is no issue, as long as we stick to one partner." Elena said.

"It is intimate and personal, if you've been with more than one person in the group, the other party is bound to become jealous and angry. Hungry, jealous vampires, do not make for a fun party." Caroline said. They looked at her as if she were a ghost, pushing herself into this conversation. Well if she was going to be involved in all this, then she was going to voice her opinion, hell, she'd probably voice it anyway whether she was involved or not.

"We could always make more vampires." Rebekah shrugged. Caroline's mouth opened slightly.

"No." both she and Elena spoke the word at the same time. Caroline looked to the girl and Elena nodded, telling her to go on.  
"We have enough to worry about without involving baby vampires who we have to watch 24/7 to make sure they don't slaughter the villagers." Caroline said waving her hand.

"Agreed." Elena nodded.

"Yep." Damon said. Stefan nodded along and crossed his arms.

"Look, the reason I wanted to come is because I've allowed another vampire to live off of me, it is hard, sustaining two vampire lives is a lot harder than it sounds. We get hungry every day, but unlike humans we don't have to eat three square meals a day. Sometimes you can skip a day, depending on how you're feeling. It is as if you are pregnant, you're eating for two. So when we figure out the feeding arrangement then you ask your partner how much they normally eat a day. If they enjoy three pints a day then for breakfast you will eat what you normally eat and then add their amount to it. It is vital that you remember to feed yourself, if not you will end up drained and looking for any source of food." Caroline said. Rebekah was gawking at her as if she'd just told her she was going to rip her throat out, not believing she'd allowed another vampire to live off her. Damon was looking at her with inquisitive eyes.

"Who?" he asked carefully. Caroline looked at him and pursed her lips.

"Therein lies the difficulty, no doubt Damon is feeling a little twinge of jealousy right now, the fact that I allowed another vampire to drink from me is appalling to him. Yet he knows nothing of the situation." Caroline said. All eyes turned to Damon and he just shook his head.

"Don't know where that came from." he said.

"It is instinct. As vampires we protect what is ours, and when we feel like our possessions are in danger of becoming someone else's, then we act, fast and hard, we kill and we don't think twice about it. So we have to remember that this is a life and death situation, which means, no discussing feedings and no visible marks. I suggest right here," Caroline said as she tugged down the blouse to reveal the area around the base of her neck and collar bone. "Plenty of veins in this area, also hidden easily." She finished.

The front door opened, Caroline heard it and her head snapped around, he was here, she knew it was Nik, just by his walk. The way his feet hit the ground with purpose and she knew he was on a mission. She turned her back to the group, now facing the direction he would enter. Her heart pounded, she swore it matched his footsteps, her stomach fluttered, she crossed her arms, then un crossed them, then crossed them back. She couldn't find a comfortable position, so finally she left them crossed and looked up just as he came around the corner. His eyes landed on Rebekah first, sliding around the room, until he spotted her. Everything inside him came skidding to a halt. Where he was going, what he was doing, completely gone from his mind as the blonde haired, blue eyes, goddess came into his vision. He half wondered if she was real or just another figment of his imagination. Her hair was a beautiful as he remembered, he recalled running his fingers softly through it. Her eyes stared up at him, so blue, so many times he'd looked into them for comfort and safety. The freckles splashed across her cheeks, he remembered counting them, pressing his finger to her nose and cheeks softly. Her lean, curved body, how many times he'd ran his hands over her slowly and sensuously.

"Caroline." He whispered her name, he feared if he said it too loud she might jump in fear and run away from him, like a small deer.

"Hello Niklaus." She said. He shuddered, he hadn't heard that voice in so long, the soft melodic tones flowing over him, music to his ears. He barely registered the others in the room as he stepped down and continued to stare at her. He wanted to ask her if she was real, turn to his sister and ask her if she saw her too. But he feared sounding like an imbecile. He stepped closer to her, and his hand reached out, she didn't move or flinch away as he slipped his hand into hers. She was real, her hands, exactly like he'd remembered. He lifted her hand and dropped his lips to her knuckles, kissing her softly there. His lips lingered, taking in her scent, her amazing scent, and then he released her, stepping back, giving her a moment to breath. Giving himself a moment as well.

"I had no idea you were still alive and well." he said. Caroline's lips closed and she gave him a look, one he could not quite place.

"Maybe if you would have looked you might have know." she said. Klaus smirked, she was the same Caroline, witty and smart.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I heard about the infection, heard Mystic Falls didn't have it yet, it would appear I am to late though. Rebekah convinced me it would help if I stayed for a while." She said, conveniently leaving Damon out of it. He was standing close by, arms crossed, staring at the pair, a sigh on his tongue, an eye roll at the ready.

"To help figure out the infection?" he asked.

"And to help with the feedings." She said, purposefully breaking eye contact. She knew his face told no lies and he would be shocked to hear that, as well as wondering who exactly she would be feeding.

"Ok, let's get this show on the road, to cover the bases Klaus, no discussing feedings, no visible marks." Damon said, looking directly at Caroline. Klaus briefly glanced between the two but showed no signs on picking up on Damon's blatant attempt at putting her secret out there.

"Also, Klaus is a hybrid, werewolf bite kills a vampire." Elena said. Caroline looked toward him, that was a little piece of information she didn't know.

"Well my blood fixes that. After I feed all I have to do it give them a small amount of my blood and they are fine." He said. Caroline nodded and shrugged, problem solved.

"I believe Rebekah is out on feeding Klaus, brother on sister, not something I condone." Damon smirked. Klaus glared and Caroline tiptoed on glass around them.

"I can feed Damon or Stefan." Elena said.

"Rebekah can feed Damon or Stefan." She continued.

"And Caroline can feed Damon or Klaus." Elena finished. Caroline hissed under her breath and closed her eyes, hoping that was not a clue. She recovered quickly to find Nik glaring at Damon and shaking his head.

"How about Elena and Stefan, as much as I hate it, Damon and I, and Caroline and Nik." Rebekah said. Caroline knew Rebekah's motives behind pairing herself with Damon, and pairing her with Nik. She was on a mission. If Caroline objected to it, Nik would make it his personal mission to figure out why. As much as she hated the thought of Damon feeding from someone besides her, she knew it was best. Her stomach turned at the thought and she felt a warmth spread over her, was it anger or jealousy, she could not quite tell, all she knew was that she had to rein in her emotions or risk an all out fight.

"Fine with me." Stefan nodded and Elena nodded as well.

"I'm ok with that." Caroline said glancing at Nik who barely suppressed a grin. Damon glared at the pair and Caroline gave her best sympathetic look.

"Yeah, fine." He said.

"Try to act a little less suicidal at the thought of drinking from me." Rebekah frowned. As much as Caroline wanted this to work out, she had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach that this would get worse before it got better.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter is a bit short. I've been writing as much as I can. I hope you all enjoy, thank you so much for the reviews!**

**Chapter 14**

Caroline grabbed the large black bag and tossed it down on the table, she unzipped it and began tossing the blood bags out.

"Drink up ladies." She said nodding to them. Rebekah was first to break the cap on the bag and tip it up, Elena right behind her, finally Caroline popped the top off hers and turned it up. The blood flowed into her mouth, while blood from a bag was not her favorite, she did what she had to do. It was room temperature, not nearly as warm as fresh from a vein, but it would do. She felt herself being watched and she turned slightly as she drank. Nik was staring at her, his eyes never leaving her form. He was gorgeous, even more so than she remembered. He had chopped all his hair off, but she found that she liked it better this way. She turned away from him and finished the bag. She was definitely full. She'd drank her fill this morning, the extra was for Klaus.

"How many?" she asked him.

"Two will be fine." He said. Caroline nodded and grabbed another bag, she turned it up and began to gulp it down as the other girls grabbed their second bags.

"After this, I'm going to figure out what exactly this infection is." Nik said turning his eyes to the other men.

"Most infections have a cure." He said.

"Little dose of antibiotics and we might get a healthy population again." Damon said. Caroline listened as long as she could, but her body began to get hot. As a vampire she ran a little cool, not obnoxiously freezing like the vampires in some of the movies she'd seen, but still a tad cooler than most. But when vampires drank too much, or overfilled themselves, they ran the risk of bloodlust, as well as getting very hot. She felt the sweat bead on her forehead as she finished the bag. She put it down and nodded.

"Alright, let's do this, it is getting hot." She said. Nik looked over at her and she waved him forward.

"Lead the way." She said. He walked ahead of her and she gave a small glance toward Damon, he stood next to the couch, his arms crossed, practically glaring at Nik's retreating back. His eyes fell and met hers. They looked at each other for a long while, her heart beating a little faster. He was still absolutely wonderful, she loved the way her hands felt running through his hair, she loved the way he would stare into her eyes and run his fingertips across her cheek. She loved everything about him, even his cocky personality. As Rebekah finished drinking and made her way past him Caroline turned her eyes back to the staircase where Nik was standing, waiting for her. Her stomach turned making her feel nauseas, how would she ever do this?

* * *

Damon turned as Caroline walked up the staircase, he followed Rebekah, his heart sinking. Even though he knew and understood why the groups had been paired that way, it didn't make it any easier. Caroline was what he'd always considered as the end game. She was the only person, besides Elena that could make him happy. He'd never known love besides the two women, and here he was, stuck in yet another love triangle. First it was Elena choosing between he and his brother, he'd had to fight everyday for someone to care about him. Now, Caroline was here, having to choose between he and Klaus. But Klaus still didn't know Damon had ever been a part of Caroline's life, and frankly he was just a little worried about what might happen when he did find out.

* * *

Caroline followed behind Nik into the bedroom. She smirked and shook her head at the overly large room. It was huge by itself, and the bed was a perfect fit for it, also huge.

"Nice." She said. He glanced toward her and nodded before turning his eyes away again. Caroline crossed her arms, why was she getting the cold shoulder.

"So why does everyone call you Klaus now?" she asked as she made her way to the bed, she was feeling tired, like any normal person would feel on an overly full stomach. He turned to her and shook his head.

"The only people who have ever called me Nik were you and Rebekah. After you…left, it didn't feel right for anyone else to call me that, so I went by Klaus." He said. Caroline's mouth nearly fell open.

"After I left? I didn't leave Niklaus, I was forced away, by you, just in case you don't remember." She said.

"Of course I remember." He said. Caroline ground her teeth and waved her hand in the air, giving a frustrated sigh.

"Not now, maybe after I don't feel so worn out." She said. Nik nodded and they both sat down across from one another.

"I would say wrist, but neck is faster." She said. Nik smirked and nodded.

"I won't disagree." He said. Caroline gripped the bottom of her shirt and pulled it up over her head, she didn't want to get blood on it.

"Of course you won't." she said. He stared down at her, unable to remove his eyes from the body he hadn't seen in so very long.

"While I appreciate the compliment your stare pays, I just want to get this over with." She said.

"Am I really that bad?" he asked, giving a slightly hurt look. She sighed and shook her head.

"No Nik, no you're not, I just don't feel like dealing with any of this right now, so the faster this is over, the better." She said. He nodded and he gave a small head tilt as he leaned forward. Caroline felt his hand slip onto the back of her neck and he pulled her toward his mouth. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back as she stopped seeing and just felt. His other hand landed on her back, pulling her body against his and his lips dropped to her neck. Her lips parted as a moan threatened to escape. She hadn't felt his touch in nearly 1000 years, the process she was about to go through was personal and she didn't know how she would feel afterward. Pain flared in her neck and she grunted in discomfort. His hand on her back moved gently, his fingertips caressing her spine, her hips, and she relaxed into his hold. A cool feeling spreading through her body, as his larger body wrapped her up, his hard chest pressed against hers, her long flat stomach smooth against the fabric of his shirt, feeling him underneath her. She lifted her hands, one of them going into his hair, his soft wavy hair; her other hand traveling up his thigh, running her fingers softly over his leg and to the hem of his shirt, her hand dipped beneath the fabric and she touched his skin. She felt him tense slightly and she wondered why, but after a moment he relaxed, and her hand gently ran across his body, she remembered his body, every detail of it. His pulls on her neck were slowing, she felt a lot better, much cooler, more energetic, he was almost done, she could tell. Her hand dipped along his hip and moved up his back where her fingers collided with something, her eyes opened, scars, there were scars on his back. He froze, his mouth stopped moving on her neck as her hand ran across them. Three long lines across his back. She'd never felt those, or seen scars before. It would have had to have been done before he was turned, vampires didn't scar. He pulled away swiftly, his mouth leaving her neck, his hands leaving her body, her hands leaving his, and despite her vampirism, she felt cold, the cool air replacing where his body once was.

"Thank you, you can go now." he said turning away from her. His breathing was erratic, Caroline could tell. She stood quickly and shook her head.

"Nik, what are those scars from?" she asked as she used her hand to gently wipe her neck clean.

"Nothing, had them since I was a kid." He said.

"Lie to someone who hasn't seen you naked more than once." She said grabbing up her shirt and tugging it on. Her mind was clearing itself of the clouds, the clouds that had appeared when his hands had touched her and his teeth had sunk into her neck. He turned and sped at her, his hand wrapped around her neck and squeezed. Caroline glared and her hand wrapped around his as she coughed at the way his hand tightened around her windpipe.

"Let me go." she growled. He stared down at her and quickly shook his head before releasing her. Caroline coughed and then lunged, all her anger from 1000 years ago returning, she shoved him hard and they slammed into the wall, her hands clawing at him.

"How dare you!" she said pinning him there with her body. His eyes widened and his face appeared shocked.

"After everything you've done to me, I'm stupid enough to try to help you, and after I try to help you, you repay me by wrapping your hand around my throat. If I could kill you I would, you son of a bitch." She said as tears sprang to her eyes. She gave an exasperated sigh and let him go, turning away. She stomped toward the door, but he rushed forward, grabbing her arm, this time it was gentle.

"Caroline wait." He said softly. As much as she wanted to rip away from him and walk out the door, she couldn't move her feet.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. Can you forgive me?" he asked.

"Can you tell me why you kicked me out of our home 1000 years ago?" she asked without turning around. His hand didn't move and he didn't speak.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. How about we just keep this to feedings and no talking? Goodbye Klaus." She said, she jerked her arm free and marched out of the room.

Klaus stood, stunned. She'd called him Klaus, she'd only ever called him Nik. Did that mean she was done? If it was him, he would have been done a long time ago. Caroline was persistent though, and when she loved, she loved with all her heart. He hadn't meant to grab her like that. He wasn't used to people confronting him, and telling him like it is. But Caroline had always done that. She'd always been honest with him, she'd never backed down, not from him, his siblings, or his parents. That's why he'd had so much respect for her. She was amazing in every shape form and fashion. He just wasn't ready to tell her the whole story, because telling her what Ester had done meant that he'd also have to tell her everything he'd done. He'd have to tell her that he'd killed his mother, that's he'd killed so many others. Because if he was going to be honest with her about one thing, he would have to be honest with her about it all, and he didn't know how she would feel about him after he admitted to such evils. Would she still care about him, would she still love him?

**A/N: Ok, I've got some ideas for a new story that keep popping into my head. If you'd be interested in reading another story by me, please review and let me know. I don't want to get started writing and then not have any interested parties. Thanks guys! **


	15. Chapter 15

**SURPRISE! Weekend treat for all of you!**

**Chapter 15**

Caroline was downstairs before she could think, Damon stood there in the family room, he was alone.

"Didn't go as well as you'd hoped for huh?" he asked with a grin.

"Don't look so pleased Damon." She said. Her eyes zeroed in on a small drop of blood on the edge of his lips. Her eyes narrowed and she ground her teeth slightly. But she knew what was going on. Damon wouldn't leave blood around his mouth, unless it was on purpose.

"You could try to wipe your mouth a little better." She said walking past him toward the door.

"You're really going to do this?" he asked. Caroline paused and turned toward him.

"Do what Damon?" she asked.

"You're going to let Klaus feed off you while I feed off Rebekah, even though you know it pisses me off more than anything, and it pisses you off too?" he asked.

"Yes I am Damon, because despite the fact that it pisses both of us off, I know Niklaus could kill you easily, and I won't let that happen. So keep your mouth shut. I'm going home." she said turning and leaving before he could say anymore.

* * *

Sleep was carrying Caroline through a wonderful dream. She'd never slept this long before, it had been nearly 17 hours. Her body was a little tired and she'd felt like crap when she'd arrived home, so she'd lain down in the guest bedroom. Her eyes blinked open and she immediately felt like she was going to throw up. She pushed herself up and her body shook with the effort. Sweat ran down her forehead and covered her body. She was sick, but she thought the infection didn't get to the females. Was she dying? She pushed herself off the bed and wobbled to the bathroom, her bare feet carrying her slowly. She flipped the lights on and looked into the mirror and she was shocked. Her body was a lot paler than usual, a fine sheen of sweat covered her, she was shaking. Caroline pulled the tank top to the side, and gasped, the bite mark was not healed, it was bright red and the veins around it were black, spreading up her throat. She gasped as she remembered what they'd said. Klaus was a hybrid, he'd bitten her, and she'd been in such a rush to get away from him she'd forgotten to get him to feed her his blood. She turned from the bathroom and moved as fast as she could back to the bedside table.

"My phone." She hissed, it wasn't there. She'd left it downstairs.

"Shit." she growled and turned for the door. Her knees where shaking as she grabbed the rail and stepped down. When her foot hit the first stair it shook her core. She stumbled and swiftly wrapped both arms around the rail, steadying herself. She stepped again and swallowed hard as she continued down the stairs. She stumbled on the last stair and dropped to her knees. Her phone was in the living room. She coughed hard, the cough racking her body as she pulled herself to her feet. She moved as fast as she could into the living room and spotted the girl who lived here, Brooke, was her name, just sitting on the couch, watching TV. She glanced up and then turned back to the TV.

"Brooke." Caroline whispered. She looked up and nodded.

"If someone comes, invite them in, ok?" Caroline said. Brooke nodded as Caroline began coughing again. She spotted her phone, but when she reached out, her body shook and she fell hard to the ground, her body giving up on her. She was aching, and she wanted to call for Brooke to give her the phone, but she couldn't speak, she couldn't move.

* * *

Klaus paced back and forth his painting room, he kept glaring at the large picture of Caroline he'd just drawn. While it was a nice picture it was nothing compared to having the real Caroline in front of him. But no, he'd ruined that, he'd caused her to flee, and flee quickly at that. He sighed and walked into the main room where Rebekah stood, flipping through a magazine.

"I can hear you pacing." She said as she continued to flip.

"Mind your business Rebekah." He said.

"It is my business Nik, she is my friend too." She said.

"She hasn't been your friend in nearly 1000 years Bekah." He said. Rebekah dropped the magazine on the table and glared.

"So what? Friends remember one another, just like lovers do." Rebekah smirked.

"Do me a favor and be quiet." He said.

"Dirty hybrid." She smirked.

"Dumb blonde." He said shaking his head. Then it hit him, Rebekah's comment had brought it on, he hadn't given Caroline his blood. They'd argued and she'd rushed out, he didn't have a chance to feed her.

"Caroline." He said hurriedly.

"What?" Rebekah asked.

"I forgot to feed her my blood." he barely had the words out of his mouth before Rebekah jumped up.

"Where is she?" he asked her.

"I don't know. Damon does though." She said. Klaus turned and raced out the door, barely giving a second thought to the fact that Damon knew where she was. He was at the Salvatore boarding house within minutes, he shoved open the door.

"Where is she? Damon!" he screamed. Damon appeared in front of him.

"What the hell?" he asked. Stefan and Elena were next.

"Where is Caroline, I need to know where she is." He said.

"Why?" Damon asked.

"I didn't feed her my blood." he said. Damon wanted to argue with him, wanted to hit him for forgetting that, but he knew how long it had been since she'd fed him. He rattled off the address as fast as he could and Klaus was gone. He wanted to follow, he needed to follow, but he couldn't, because he knew it would raise questions, and Caroline was right when she said Klaus would kill him.

Klaus was at the house, beating on the door. Caroline would choose to live in a house with a human, just to keep others out. The door opened and a short brunette stared back at him.

"Come in." she said stepping out of the way. He hurried into the house and looked around quickly. He spotted her, Caroline. She was laid out on the floor on her stomach, her blonde hair spread around her head like a halo. Klaus rushed to her.

"Caroline!" he gathered her in his arms, turning her body over in his arms. Her head lolled back, her lips open slightly, her breathing was ragged and wheezing through her dry lips.

"Caroline." He whispered. Her eyes fluttered slightly and he knew he couldn't wait any longer. He held her with one arm and brought his wrist to his mouth, biting down hard. Blood ran across his mouth as he dropped his wrist to her lips.

"Drink." He said softly. He lifted her body and propped her back against his chest as her lips closed around the fresh wound. He gently stroked her hair back away from her face as she sucked gently.

"There you go." he said. He dropped his lips against her hair and placed a kiss there. He felt like pure shit. She'd suffered again at his hands, when would he learn? When she was done he pulled his wrist back and adjusted, slipping his arms underneath her. He stood with her and her hands gripped his shirt as he carried her up the stairs and into the nearest room. He eased her down onto the bed and he laid down with her, he didn't want to leave her just yet. He couldn't leave her.

"I'm sorry." He said. Caroline didn't answer, she didn't open her eyes again, she just turned into him, pressing her front against his side, she laid her head across his chest and laid her hand on his abdomen. He lay still beneath her, he wasn't tired, but he didn't speak, because he felt like if he spoke it would ruin what was happening. They were in the same bed again, and it felt amazing. Within minutes she was fast asleep, and he wondered what she was dreaming about. His arms tightened around her, feeling her body against his was something he had missed. He thought he'd forgotten how it made him feel, those feelings that accompanied cuddling up next to her were something he thought he'd put away a very long time ago, but he hadn't. They were still there and he could feel them coming back full force. He was slipping, he was feeling again. If he was going to finish his work in New Orleans and kill those who had wronged him for so many years, then he was going to have to cut this off. He couldn't feel again, he couldn't allow himself to break. He ground his teeth and reached down, moving her arms off of him. He pulled away from her and climbed out of the bed. He glanced down at her and pursed his lips, his eyes closed tightly as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. He couldn't let her get tangled up in his mess, he couldn't let her get hurt again. He pulled away and left, he needed to go back to New Orleans, but he'd have to find another female vampire to take with him, because he would have to feed.

* * *

The next morning Damon approached the small house Caroline stayed in, he pushed open the door and climbed the stairs, hurrying toward the bed room. He knocked hard against it.

"Come in Damon." Caroline said. He smirked and opened the door, Caroline was sitting on the cushioned window bench, her legs curled up against her chest, looking out at the sky. Damon pursed his lips as he remembered the Caroline of his past.

**Year 1880**

Damon ran his hand over the large black horse in front of him. He hoofed the ground and snorted as Damon led him into the stall; he latched the gate behind the horse and turned toward the large white house. He glanced up to the top floor and smiled at the window. Caroline was seated against the window, looking upward at the sky. He chuckled and trotted the rest of the way to the house, he took the stairs up to the top floor and pushed open the door. She was a sight sitting there, her legs pulled up against her chest causing her night dress to reveal her pale white legs and thighs, her hair was pulled up into a small twist, allowing some of it to hang down and barely brush her neck. Damon walked up behind her and brushed his fingertips across her bare shoulder. She turned her head and smiled up at him.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked

"How much I love Paris, how I never want to leave." She said softly as she looked back out the window. He nodded and leaned down, pressing his lips gently to her neck.

"Why do we have to go?" he asked.

"Because we've been here to long already." She said. Damon nodded, he understood they couldn't stay anywhere very long. She turned her head toward him and kissed his cheek.

"I should finish packing." She said standing. He helped her to her feet and nodded.

"I'll finish compelling the workers." He said. He turned and walked toward the door, turning once again before he left, to look at her. She smiled up at him as she pushed her clothing into a bag and he smiled back. His angel, his Caroline.

**Present **

Damon walked toward her and stopped right behind her. She continued to look up at the sky, he knew she was thinking about something.

"Are you ok?" Damon asked. Caroline nodded, not speaking. Alright, so he was going to have to pull out all the stops.

"Still sore?" he asked reaching down and running his fingers over her neck where the mark was healing nicely. He still frowned though, seeing someone else's bite mark on her neck was gut wrenching. She closed her eyes as his fingers connected with her skin and he smirked.

"How do you know?" she asked. He grinned, he'd succeeded in getting her to talk.

"I was bitten a while back. Thought I was done for." He said. Caroline looked up at him and shook her head.

"I don't know what to do Damon." She said.

"Why? Because he hurt you again? Don't tell me you didn't expect it." he said. Caroline frowned and Damon lifted his hand to her cheek, caressing gently, she turned her cheek against his hand and her frown turned into a smile.

"Why is it that you're always the one who catches me when I fall?" she asked. Damon slipped his hand behind her head, pulled her to him, he wrapped his arms around her and he held her close, and he didn't want to let her go.


	16. Chapter 16

**So I wrote this in one day. I write when I'm emotional and this morning I buried my 13 year old dog. She had cancer in her lymph-nodes and she passed away in her sleep last night. So, I wanted to go ahead and post this because i'm hoping your reviews will make me feel a little better. Thank you all. **

**Chapter 16**

Two days later Caroline walked up the steps to the house and pushed the door open. Rebekah was standing in the front room, picking up books and returning them to the shelf.

"Is Klaus here?" she asked. Rebekah looked up and smiled.

"Upstairs in his room." she said. Caroline nodded and hurried up the stairs. All she was interested in was getting this over quickly. She didn't even bother knocking, she just pressed her hand to the door and pushed. It opened quickly and she froze. He was standing in the middle of the room changing shirts and his back was turned to her. The long scars across his shoulders and down his back were harsh to the eyes and Caroline's heart clenched. She couldn't imagine the kind of pain he'd gone through at the hands of whoever had inflicted those scars.

"Niklaus." She said under her breath. He whirled around and glared.

"Get out!" he screamed. Caroline couldn't move, she just stood there. She could tell how hurt he was that she'd seen him, his ego was clearly bruised because she knew he hated when people saw any type of weakness he had, and in order for someone to leave those wounds, they would have had to have gotten to him.

"What happened to you?" she asked gently as she stepped closer to him. He raced towards her and stopped right in her face.

"I said, get out." He growled. Caroline shook her head, standing her ground, she wasn't afraid of him.

"Not until you tell me what happened to you." she said. He was fuming, his eyes wide, his nostrils flaring, his teeth bared, but she wasn't giving in.

"Don't push me away." she said softly. He stood still, his mouth closing, his nostrils stopped flaring.

"You always push me away. You preach loyalty and family, and here I am. I'm family, I'm loyal, I've been loyal, yet you shove me away from you." Caroline said gently as she moved around him to his back where she could get a better look. The scars were dark pink, raised, and jagged. She didn't speak as she lifted her hand and gently touched them. He flinched at her touch and her heart clenched even more, causing her stomach to turn. Her proud strong man had been wounded body and soul. He'd hurt her when he'd left her alone after feeding her his blood, but she understood now. He was hurt too, his soul, pride, and need to be in control had driven him to hide his secrets and keep them bottled up. Now here he was in front of her, losing his control and he was scared. She gently ran her fingers over the scars, traveling from top to bottom on each one, trailing the scar all the way down.

"When did you get these?" she asked.

"Three years ago, in New Orleans." He said quietly. Caroline's mouth fell open.

"I thought vampires didn't scar?" she asked. He scoffed, "So did I." he said.

"How?" she asked.

"Little salt in the wound and it doesn't heal properly. It leaves a scar." He said. Caroline's eyes closed briefly as she fought back tears. She couldn't imagine the pain.

"Who did this to you?" she asked. She wanted to know, because if they got the best of him, then they must have been strong.

"A coven of witches and their leader, a vampire, a man whose being trying to kill me for a very long time." He said.

"Patrick Warren." He said. Caroline stopped moving, her hand froze. She recognized that name.

"Patrick Warren, his son killed Anna." She said hurriedly. Klaus turned around and nodded.

"After you were gone Patrick found his son, he didn't believe that a woman had been strong enough to break his son's neck, so he dug and dug until he found out our secret, and then one day he was just gone. I've encountered him several times over the years and each time he's had a different idea on how to kill me. He got close three years ago, but I got away, I can feel him getting closer now though, and I know he's coming for me. He only wants me because he thinks you're dead, but if he discovers you here, or that you're alive, he'll stop at nothing to hunt you down and kill you too. So I have to get to him first, before he can get me, or worse, you." he said. Tears peaked at the corners of her eyes.

"I thought you didn't care." She said swiping away the tears to keep them from falling. He frowned and caught her hand as she wiped at her eyes.

"I never stopped caring about you Caroline." He said softly. Klaus shook his head and looked down at the ground, but Caroline grabbed his face in between her palms and lifted his face to hers. Her lips crashed against his quickly and he threw his arms around her waist, pulling her against him. She sighed against his mouth as his lips moved against hers, she had really missed this. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him to her. She knew it was wrong, she'd kissed Damon, and now here she was with Klaus, how was this going to work?

* * *

Caroline ran the bath cloth up her throat, wiping away the blood there from Klaus's feeding. She didn't feel dirty at all though, she'd only kissed him and fed him. She hadn't let it go any further than that, and she was proud of herself. Caroline walked into the room and noticed the clothes Rebekah had brought for her to borrow. She'd somehow managed to get blood on her shirt. She looked at the door, making sure it was closed, and then she pulled her shirt off, she pulled at her bra and adjusted her straps.

"I've missed that view." Klaus's voice called. Caroline whirled around, grabbing up the shirt and the picture on the bedside table simultaneously, she covered herself and flung the picture. Klaus caught it right before it hit him and he laughed. Caroline's mouth was open as she stared at him, and he continued to laugh. Within seconds she was laughing as well, his laughter was infectious, and she hadn't heard it in so long.

"That is not funny." She said trying to contain her laughter.

"It is kind of funny." He smirked. Caroline pulled the shirt over her head.

"You're a jerk." She said shaking her head. Caroline shook her head at him. Klaus ducked around her to put the picture back on the table, his shoulder brushed her arm as he leaned and she stared down at him. She felt herself move toward him, but a loud knock on the downstairs door echoed. Klaus spun around and looked back over his shoulder at Caroline. She could see the slight worry in his eyes.

"Who is it?" she asked him. He shook his head and nodded to the bed.

"Stay here." he said. Caroline put her hands on her hips and glared as he turned and left the room. Caroline followed, walking out the door and to the railing of the staircase, she never was much one for rules. She peered over and looked down at the foyer. Klaus pulled the door open and stared forward, no one was there. Caroline watched as something rushed forward into the house, knocking a stunned Klaus backward. He fell but recovered quickly as a second thing rushed forward, he caught this one though, wrapping his hand around its throat. He held it in the air, a male, black hair with a white streak through the side, his eyes were dark, his fangs extended as his hissed.

"Got you." Klaus said. Caroline moved to rush down the stairs but something caught her hair, she remembered the other thing that had come in. Shit she cursed as the thing jerked her back and pressed a silver blade to her neck. Caroline hissed as the blade bit into her neck.

"And I've got her." a female voice said in her ear. It was familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. Klaus turned quickly and looked up, his eyes widening. Caroline felt the girl behind her, she was younger, she could tell, she could take her.

"Don't let him go Klaus." Caroline said. Her hand tightened around the intruder's wrist and she ripped down, the knife sliced down her neck and across her shoulder, but she knocked it away. Caroline swung around with her other arm and wrapped it behind the girl's head. She jerked down and flipped the girl over her shoulder, tossing her easily over the rails. Before she hit the ground Caroline was down the staircase. The girl slammed onto the floor and Caroline was on top of her, Caroline's hand closed around her throat and she held her to the floor.

"You've got who exactly?" Caroline asked looking down at the girl. She immediately recognized the person beneath her. The girl's short black hair gave her away, she had a white streak on each side of her head in the front, her sea foam green eyes glared up, she was short and slender and not nearly as old as Caroline.

"Kedah." Caroline said quickly. The girl's wild eyes immediately softened and she smirked.

"Caroline, what the hell are you doing here?" she asked with a large smile. Caroline let her go and climbed off of her, offering her hand.

"What are you doing?" Klaus asked. Caroline turned to him and nodded.

"You can let him down Klaus." Caroline said.

"This is my brother Koda." Kedah said nodding to him.

"Klaus, Kedah and I met each other a very long time ago. You can trust her." Caroline said. Klaus looked at her and frowned, Caroline knew he didn't trust anyone, but she also knew he could kill them both easily if he wanted to, she knew he knew that too.

"Are you sure?" he asked looking back to the boy.

"I'm positive." Caroline said putting her hand over his bicep gently. Koda wasn't struggling, just irritated.

"How?" he asked. Caroline glanced back at Kedah and pursed her lips.

"I can trust her because she saved my life." Caroline said.

**Year: 1910**

Caroline laughed as she was twirled around the dance floor, she hadn't danced in a very long time. She tossed her hair back over her shoulder as the man holding her spun her out. He pulled her back quickly into his embrace. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this free, she loved to dance. As the man tucked her in and hummed the tune in her ear she was stunned with memories. Niklaus spinning her around, his hands holding her body close, pulling her against his chest, singing the song in her ear. That was the last time she'd felt free and floating, when she'd danced with Niklaus. Her heart hurt as she thought of the two men she desperately missed. She feared she would die before she ever saw them again. The song ended and she stepped back and curtsied.

"Thank you for the dance." She said. The man smiled and lifted her hand, pressing her knuckles to his lips.

"No, thank you." he smiled. Caroline nodded and pulled away. She rushed off the dance floor and pushed through the crowd until she was outside. She sucked in the fresh air and shook her head free of all thoughts. She turned the corner and walked down the alley when a gun firing caught her off guard and an intense pain erupted right below her heart. Caroline cried out and fell to the ground, her hand covering the hole in her chest. Caroline gasped for breath as pain flared through her body. She couldn't breathe, why wasn't she healing? She felt the object move toward her heart with each ragged breath, it was wood, a wooden bullet. Caroline fell to her back and looked up as footsteps approached.

"Caroline Mikaelson. Never in my life did I think I'd see you again. I thought you were dead." An all too familiar voice said as he leaned over her. Caroline looked up into the eyes of Mikael, and she felt the wood move again. It was like it was seeking out her heart, trying to find it and kill her.

"What do you want?' Caroline grunted and closed her eyes through the pain.

"I want to know where Niklaus is." He smirked. "I'll let you go free Caroline dear. Just tell me where he is."

"I don't know, and even if I did, I would not tell you." she said. He grinned and shook his head.

"Caroline, always the loyal kind heart. Well, it was good to see you again dear. Enjoy what is left of your life." He smirked and waved his men on. They were gone quickly, leaving Caroline lying in the alley. She closed her eyes as the breath she took forced the wood closer and she felt it there at her heart, her next breath would drive it in, effectively killing her. She wanted to be ok with her death, but she wasn't, she just wasn't happy, she'd lost her child, she'd lost the only two men she'd ever loved, and she was all alone. She gritted her teeth and opened her mouth to breath. White hot pain erupted through her chest and she screamed as her eyes flew open.

"Not today princess." The girl leaning over her had her fingers in the wound. She ripped the bullet out and threw it to the ground. Caroline gasped as the wound quickly healed. She coughed and sat up, the pain going away to a dull ache before it was gone completely. The girl stood and stretched out her hand. Caroline took it and she pulled her up. Caroline looked over the girl, she was short and slender with short black hair that had two white streaks down each side, she had bright sea foam green eyes.

"Who are you?" Caroline asked.

"Kedah." She said stretching out her hand.

"Odd name." Caroline said.

"Well don't make fun of mine without telling me yours." Kedah said. Caroline couldn't help the chuckle.

"It's Caroline." She said. Kedah nodded, "Not so bad." She smirked.

"Thank you for saving me." Caroline said.

"Well I couldn't very well let you die. We're the same you and I." Kedah said.

"I've never seen a wooden bullet before." Caroline said.

"Yeah well those pesky hunters are getting smart. By the way, how did he know you?" Kedah asked. Caroline shook her head slowly.

"I get it, not comfortable with sharing just yet. Well Caroline, how about you come with me, considering being alone isn't very good for your health?" Kedah asked. Caroline was a little apprehensive, she barely knew this girl, then again, she'd saved her life, and if she wanted her dead, she could have left her.

"Where are we going?" Caroline asked with a smile.

"I hear Chicago is getting busy." Kedah said.

**A/N: By the way, Kedah is pronounced (Key-duh). **


	17. Chapter 17

**ENJOY!**

**Chapter 17**

"Well I could care less if she saved your life nearly a hundred years ago. The question is, why are they here in my house?" Klaus asked as he sat Koda on his feet. Kedah sighed and slipped the silver blade back into her belt. Caroline's knees where wobbling as she wiped the blood away on her shoulder. It wasn't healing and she knew why. She'd barely had anything to eat today. She'd eaten enough for Klaus, but hardly any for her. She'd wanted to, but it had slipped her mind, like most things. She turned as Koda spoke up.

"Because we're trying to get to the person that infected the humans." Koda said. Caroline's eyes widened and she turned to Kedah.

"Someone infected them?" she asked. Kedah pursed her lips and nodded.

"At first we thought it was just an infection in the blood, but I have a friend that is a witch in New Orleans, she told me that a man came into town about four years ago, seeking out local witches, he wanted her to join him, he even told her his big plan. Starve out the vampires, make them think there is no blood, but he made a failsafe because he is a vampire too. Females don't become infected." Kedah said.

"Patrick Warren." Caroline said slowly. "Why though?" Klaus asked.

"You know him?" Koda asked.

"Apparently he has some sort of grudge against a certain vampire named Niklaus Mikaelson." Kedah said raising an eyebrow. Klaus couldn't help the smirk. Caroline shook her head at him, and nodded to Kedah.

"Ok, so he started this, with his witches?" Caroline asked. Kedah nodded, "Yes he did, and we're trying to figure out how to stop him." She finished.

"Simple, we'll kill him." Klaus said. Caroline rolled her eyes and Kedah turned to him and frowned, it was slowly becoming very clear to Caroline that neither Kedah nor Koda knew who or what Klaus was.

"We were hoping you could help with that since you're the one that pissed him off." Kedah said. Caroline knew Kedah had always had a smart mouth, but she'd never shared her past with her. Kedah knew about The Original Vampires, but she didn't know Klaus was one of them. Klaus frowned at her and his eyebrows moved up and down, Caroline stepped in between the pair and smiled, laughing it off.

"Yeah, ok, well I don't think he knows either. But now that we know this was started by someone, and we know the man that did it, we can stop him." Caroline said.

"Well if he doesn't know, then why was he in New Orleans?" Koda asked jerking his head toward Klaus.

"I don't answer to you. I don't answer to anyone!" Klaus glared at him. Caroline put herself in between the two men as Koda jumped toward Klaus. Kedah leapt forward and grabbed for Koda as Caroline grabbed for Klaus. Caroline slammed her back against Klaus's chest, putting all her strength into holding him, but Koda slipped free of Kedah and Klaus roared. They were at each other, with Caroline trapped in the middle, pain ripped through her and she screamed. Caroline's eyes clenched together and she dropped.

"Koda enough!" Kedah screeched, arms were around her and she peeled her eyes open to look at where the pain was coming from. Blood dripped from the wound underneath her breasts. She looked up at Koda's blood covered hand. He'd tried to go for Klaus's heart and nearly got hers. She knew she wasn't healing fast, but she would heal.

"I'll kill you." Klaus said hurriedly. Caroline's hand wrapped around his wrist.

"It was an accident. Both of you calm down right now." Caroline said as she pushed herself up. Pain was running through her as she stood, Klaus keeping his arms out, just in case she needed any help.

"I'm fine. Talk to them, I'll clean up." Caroline breathed heavily as she headed up the staircase. She walked into his room and closed the door behind her, she jerked the top up over her head and put her hand over the wound where blood still slid down her stomach.

"Bastard." Caroline shook her head and walked into the bathroom. She looked at the huge bathtub with the jets and she smirked. They could wait, she needed a moment to herself.

* * *

Caroline sighed as her head rested against the back of the bathtub and the jets ran up and down her back. She felt the wound healing, but slowly. She needed to eat soon. The bubbles in the bathtub floated ever so gently across her skin and it felt amazing.

"Your friends are gone." Klaus said from the doorway. Caroline pursed her lips.

"Can't I ever get a minute to myself?" she smirked, knowing he would reply with a smart ass comment also.

"If you went to your house you could, but since you're in my bathtub, you'll have to deal with interruptions." He said. Caroline heard his footsteps getting closer and she opened her eyes.

"Why did they leave?" she asked.

"We finished talking." He said kneeling down next to the bathtub.

"Did you solve anything?" Caroline asked. He nodded and his eyes widened slightly.

"Are you bleeding?" he asked hurriedly. Caroline shook her head quickly.

"No, I'm fine." She said. Klaus leaned up quickly and shoved his hand into the water. Caroline jerked but too late as his hand found the injury. It was nearly healed, but still dripping blood slowly. She moved from his hand and he pulled back.

"Why isn't that healing? Have you eaten today?" he asked.

"Only what I fed you." she said with a small smirk.

"Caroline." He glared.

"It slipped my mind." She said shrugging. He shook his head and stood quickly, rushing out the door. Caroline leaned up and watched as he walked out of his room. She tapped her fingers on the bathtub and waited, he returned quickly with a bag of blood.

"Here, drink." He said putting it in her hand. Caroline smirked and twisted the cap off the bag and turned it up. It felt so amazing when it hit her throat, she actually let out a small groan. She heard Klaus chuckle and she opened her eyes as she drank, giving him her best go to hell look. He smirked at her and nodded.

"Please take care of yourself you crazy woman. By the way, you've gone to calling me Klaus, why?" He asked. Caroline nodded and finished drinking.

"Things have changed, they are different now, we're all different now. What did you all decide?" she asked.

"We're going to New Orleans, we're going to find Patrick and his witches, and we're going to make them stop this." he said. Caroline knew that was not all there was to it.

"And?" she asked.

"And then, I'm going to kill him." Klaus said

* * *

As much as she dreaded speaking to Damon, she knew she had to talk to him. She enjoyed her time with Niklaus, and she enjoyed her time with Damon, choosing between the two was something she'd never imagined she'd have to do. She hadn't made a choice yet, she still had things to resolve with Klaus, things that had happened many many years ago. Damon had always been there, he'd never hurt her the way Klaus had. Yet she kept going back to Klaus, he kept making her laugh, making her smile. She knew better than anyone how dangerous Niklaus Mikaelson could be, she'd heard the stories of the Original vampire that murdered without remorse, killed because he wanted to and cared about no one. But she also knew he cared about three things more than anything, power, family, and loyalty. Caroline gave him two of those things, she was loyal to him, and she was his family, and despite his hard exterior, she'd seen the soft man underneath. Damon was gentle, he had been loving and caring, he'd loved her wildly and without remorse, but she hardly knew who he was now. She didn't recognize his carefree attitude or his callous words. But she knew the man she cared for was still in there somewhere, and she wanted to find him. If she didn't level the playing field between the two men, then she'd never feel comfortable with the decision she made in the end. She pushed the door open and walked into the large house, her hand clenched and unclenched next to her side as she walked further into the home and found herself in the main room. She stepped down the stairs and dropped her bag onto the couch. She listened and didn't hear anyone as she made her way around the room. She spotted the liquor sitting on the table. She smirked and walked over toward it, running her fingers over the two bottles.

"Damon." She said with a smile.

"He seems to be a fan of that particular drink."

Caroline whirled around to find the girl, Elena was her name. She smiled and nodded.

"Is he here?" she asked. Elena shook her head and stepped down into the sitting room.

"He's out, should be back soon." She said. Caroline nodded and lifted her purse.

"That's fine, I'll come back." she smiled and went to walk past her.

"Stay, have a drink." Elena smiled and walked toward the drinks. She quickly poured two and Caroline nodded as she sat her purse back down.

"I can do that." she said taking the drink offered. She turned it up and took a small sip, it tingled down her throat and burned her stomach as she breathed out.

"So, um…" Elena sort of trailed off and bounced around her words.

"Ask me anything you want." Caroline said as she sat down. Elena smiled and sat down across from her, seeming a bit excited.

"I've never heard anything about Damon right after Katherine. I've heard about him meeting several people, but he never spoke about you. What was he like right after her?" Elena asked.

"Scared, guilty, slowly trying to kill himself." She said taking another sip.

"She really did a number on both of them." Elena said sipping the drink.

"Both of them?" Caroline asked.

"He never told you?" Elena asked.

"Told me what?" Caroline asked.

"Katherine turned both of them, Stefan and Damon, she played both of them, slept with both of them, and then left them. I'm her doppelganger." Elena said. Caroline's mouth opened slightly and she frowned.

"Oh wow. I never knew that. I knew she'd hurt him, badly, but I never knew she'd been with them both. So is that why they both love you? Because you look like her?" Caroline asked. Elena chuckled and shook her head.

"I guess that is where the original attraction came from, but now I'd like to think it is because of my personality." She said. Caroline chuckled and nodded.

"How do you do it?" Elena asked as she turned back the drink. Caroline tossed hers back too and Elena took their glasses to fix them another.

"Do what?" Caroline asked.

"Klaus has been in love with you since 1015, Damon since 1870, I never knew a man could be that loyal." Elena said as she handed Caroline the drink. Caroline snorted and took a sip of the drink.

"Elena, neither was loyal. I'm sure both men have had their fair share of women, I've had different men besides them. But I've never loved any of them. After Klaus it was 840 years before I loved another man, Damon and I went our separate ways in 1894 that was 119 years ago, and I have not loved another man since then. Everyone gets lonely Elena, running to another bed is not always such a horrible thing. Sure humans think so, if my life were short like my partners then I would feel the same I'm sure, but it's not. I'd like the think that I am the only person Niklaus has ever loved. I know Damon has loved others, he never really loved Katherine though, she used him, but I can see that he does love you." Caroline said.

"Like he loves you." Elena smiled. Caroline chuckled, and opened her mouth to speak.

"Am I interrupting something?" Damon asked as he entered the room.


	18. Chapter 18

**PLEASE READ!**

**I had to post this chapter because I want everyone to go and take a look at the new cover for this story. nfinneman made it special for this story and I absolutely adore it! I dedicate this chapter to her! Thank you again!**

**Chapter 18**

Damon paced in front of her and then stopped abruptly.

"So you're saying this is all because of some witches and a revenge seeking vampire?" he asked. Caroline nodded and crossed her arms.

"He wants to kill Klaus, after almost 1000 years, he still holds a grudge? And I thought I had issues." Damon said. Caroline chuckled and shook her head, "You do have issues." she said. Damon winked at her and nodded.

"The point is that he wants to kill Klaus, and he's not going to stop until he does, so we have to stop him." Caroline said.

"Ok, got it, stop him. How do we do that?" Damon asked.

"We're going to New Orleans, that's where he is." She said. Damon snorted and shook his head.

"How is Klaus going to feel about putting his sweet Caroline in danger?" Damon asked. Caroline paused briefly, she wasn't sure, because she hadn't told him.

"Ah, you haven't told him yet have you?" Damon asked with a smirk.

"Shut up Damon." Caroline said as she rolled her eyes.

"So is there something you came here to tell me?" he asked.

"I came here to ask you to come to Klaus's place tonight. Your brother and Elena as well. We'll need everyone on deck. This man has a coven of witches." Caroline said. Damon pursed his lips and looked around the room briefly before he nodded.

"Fine. We'll be there." he said.

"Thank you Damon." She said. He nodded and she turned to leave, but then she paused and turned back.

"We'll talk Damon. As soon as all this is over, we'll talk." She said. He gave her an exasperated look, but she offered a weak smile and walked out.

* * *

Rebekah passed Caroline the last of her bags and Caroline tossed it in the bottom of Rebekah's closet.

"I'm glad you're staying here." Rebekah said.

"I'm not staying here Bekah, I'm just leaving my things here until I find somewhere else. Keeping someone compelled for such a long time cannot be good for them." Caroline said.

"Well I'm glad you're leaving your things here." Rebekah corrected. Caroline smirked and the she heard noise from downstairs.

"I guess everyone is here." Rebekah said. Caroline nodded and they headed down the staircase. Stefan and Damon stood right inside the door, Elena stepping in behind them. Klaus was coming out of the back room, Kedah and Koda behind him. Caroline watched as they all eyed each other.

"Damon, Elena, Stefan, this is Kedah and Koda. They're hunters." Caroline said.

"Hunters of what?" Elena asked.

"Of vampire hunters." Kedah answered. Damon and Stefan eyed them nervously.

"We have history, you can trust them." Caroline answered. Damon snorted and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, do you have something to say?" Kedah asked stepping up, Stefan stood up straighter and Koda did as well. Caroline chuckled quickly and waved her hands.

"Calm down, everyone just relax." She said. Klaus and Rebekah stood on the sidelines, arms crossed, staring forward with smirks on their faces.

"I get it, we don't all get along or like each other, but for right now, we have to set aside our differences. This is for all of us, either we stop him, or we lose our race slowly." Caroline said.

"As much as I hate to be in the same room with all of you for more than 24 hours, if we don't solve this problem, we'll all end up dead." Rebekah said.

"Well he's not angry with me." Damon smirked toward Klaus.

"I die, you die." Klaus said. Caroline pursed her lips and stepped up again.

"We're all going to be in New Orleans together, we might as well get over ourselves long enough to put a plan together." Caroline said.

"No, we're going to New Orleans, you and Rebekah are staying." Klaus said. Caroline and Rebekah both glared toward him.

"Elena can stay with you too." Stefan said. Her mouth dropped in a similar fashion.

"I'm sorry if you're not aware, but I've managed to survive nearly 1000 years without your help, I think I can take care of myself." Caroline said. Klaus looked at her and narrowed his eyes, he must have also forgotten that look didn't work on her.

"I'm going, like it or not." She said.

"Me too." Rebekah said nodding.

"You're not leaving me here." Elena said crossing her arms.

"Fine, it's solved, we're leaving in the morning." Klaus said.

"We'll if we're going to be fighting witches, we might need to bring along a friendly one of our own." Damon said opening the door. A girl Caroline didn't recognize stood on the other side. She was a beautiful girl, long black hair, dark skin, lovely eyes, and a slender frame.

"Everyone who doesn't know, this is Bonnie. She's the witch." Damon gestured. Caroline extended her hand and smiled.

"I'm Caroline." She said. Bonnie took her hand and smiled in return.

"I'm Kedah, that's Koda." Kedah said nodding. Bonnie nodded back and slipped her hands into her pockets.

"Well if we're leaving tomorrow, I should pack." Rebekah smiled and turned up the staircase.

"We're going to fight, not to a party, remember that." Stefan called after her. Caroline saw Rebekah smile widely at his comment before she hurried the rest of the way up the stairs. Elena glanced sideways as Stefan and Damon just chuckled. Oh, they'd had a fling, she could tell. Stefan and Rebekah had rolled around in the hay a few times, hard to hide.

* * *

"Oh wow. I did not realize we'd all be staying together." Damon said as they walked up to the house. It was very old, and very large, plenty of room for all of them, but a house full of vampires wasn't something any of them were comfortable with.

"A human friend owns it and I happen to have a standing invitation. Patrick can send his witches, but he cannot come in." Klaus said opening the door.

"Margaret!" he called. Caroline paused at the door, they all did, because they could not enter. She looked up the staircase as she heard footsteps and her mouth nearly hit the floor. The woman standing at the top of the staircase bore a striking resemblance to her. She had the same long blonde hair that fell down in soft waves, the same striking blue eyes, the sharp nose and jaw, pointed chin, soft pink lips, and slender body, but she was older, not too old, but well into her thirties.

"Hello Margaret." Damon said in a slow sexual voice from behind her. Caroline glared and then turned back to them as Klaus took her hand as she came off the last stair. He brought her in close and pressed a kiss to her cheek and she smiled widely.

"As long as we've known each other, I thought you would surely call me Maggie by now." she said.

"Ah, but Margaret is much more…refined." He said. Caroline coughed and tried to control the insane amount of jealousy flowing through her. She was completely confused, she'd been jealous when Damon had fed from Rebekah, but this was another level of jealousy, she wanted to hurt this girl she'd never even met.

"Margaret, these are the people I spoke about on the phone." He said waving his hand out. She turned and a wide smile covered her face.

"Welcome, all of you please come in." she said. Caroline stepped through the door first followed closely by the rest.

"Margaret this is Caroline, Damon, Stefan, Elena, Bonnie, Kedah, Koda, and my sister Rebekah." Klaus said pointing to them. Her eyes turned quickly to Caroline and she beamed.

"The Caroline? This is her?" she asked taking Caroline's hands quickly. Caroline was momentarily stunned as the girl gripped her hands and stared at her.

"Oh she is so beautiful." She said.

"The Caroline?" Damon asked.

"Oh I've heard so much about you. But, I'll let all of you get settled before I ask questions." She smiled. Klaus was standing alongside them grinning in an ever so shy way, Caroline never knew him to be shy, but he appeared to be shy about the topic.

"How rude of me, nice to meet all of you, please call me Maggie." She said nodding to each of them. Everyone nodded toward her and she turned and shouted, "Samuel, Emma!" Moments later a tall male and a small petite female came around the corner.

"Samuel could you show Damon, Stefan, and Elena to their rooms. Emma please show Bonnie, Kedah, and Koda to their rooms, and I'll take Klaus, Caroline, and Rebekah." She said.

"Yes Ma'am." They nodded. The groups separated and Caroline followed Maggie up the stairs, Klaus and Rebekah on her heels.

"Rebekah, I gave you this room, it had a nice sized closet. I know you all won't be staying forever, but big closets are nice." Maggie said pushing the door to a room open.

"Thank you Margaret." Rebekah smiled and pulled her suitcase into the room. They continued on down the hallway and paused briefly by a door.

"This is my stop, see you two later." Klaus said. Maggie nodded and Caroline raised her eyebrows at him, but he simple smirked and walked through the door into a room.

"Come on, you're right here." Maggie said walking toward a door. Caroline couldn't help herself.

"How do you know Klaus?" she asked. Maggie smiled and stared ahead as she pushed the door open.

"That is a long story." She said. Caroline looked at the large bed in the middle of the room. It was nice, but she wasn't concerned with that right now.

"I have time." She said. Maggie looked back at her and pursed her lips. She finally sighed and waved her hand.

"Follow me." she said walking out the door. Caroline followed her down the hallway and toward a pair of double doors. Maggie pushed them open to reveal a painting room, much like the one in Niklaus's home in Mystic Falls. Several unfinished paintings, sitting here and there, drawings, various brushes and pencils lay everywhere. Then two paintings hanging on the walls caught Caroline's eyes one was large the other smaller and both something she'd never seen. Two different women, one on each canvas, side by side, both looked very similar, but they were not the same person. One was Caroline, she stared at herself on the large canvas, a very flattering painting, her hair flowing down in it, she looked stunning. But she did not recognize the other.

"That's my mother, she was born in 1923, she met Niklaus in 1943. My mother tended a bar at a risky place, she was walking home and he attacked her, but before he bit her she said he stared at her long and hard and then she fainted. She woke up in her bed, covered up, with him sitting next to her. He apologized and left. My mother was stunned, confused, and scared, but she never told the police. Over the next few years she found herself in some sticky situations, but he was always there, he saved her, he watched over her. She said she witnessed him kill other people, she said he was heartless, mean, and he would kill without flinching, but around her, he laughed, smiled, and never harmed her. She said they never had any sort of intimate relationship, they were just good friends, for a long while. When I came along my mother said that Klaus was very careful with me. We have pictures of him holding me as an infant." She said with a small grin. Caroline was stunned.

"So you've known him since you were born?" Caroline asked. She nodded and continued.

"My mother died when I was fifteen, she became terribly sick and passed in her sleep one night. Klaus bought the house and signed it over to me and he hired Emma and Samuel to watch over me. He would come check on me once in a while, just to make sure I was ok. I never had a father, Klaus was the only person I could ever count on." She smiled and Caroline spotted the tears in her eyes.

"Why did you call me The Caroline?" Caroline asked. Maggie chuckled and nodded toward the paintings hanging on the walls.

"Right after my mother moved in here, Klaus came to check it out, he took interest in this room. Mom knew he loved to paint, so she bought a lot of canvases and brushes, and stocked it for him. After she surprised him with it, your face was the first thing he painted. My mother asked him who it was, he only opened up a few times, but when he did he wove magical tales of how intense your love was. This one time, when I was about eighteen, I thought I was so in love with this boy, but on one of Klaus's visits he told me this story of how you two had sat in a field of wild flowers and just watched the sunset, not caring about anything else, just each other. From then on I just referred to you as the one and only Caroline, because the way Klaus told it, no one else could ever compare."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Caroline was breathing hard, her heart pounding in her chest as she made her way down the hallway. She was bent out of shape, tears ran down her cheeks. She needed to see him. She slammed her hand into the door and went through it quickly, he stood, his face one of shock as she kicked the door closed behind her.

"Why did you send me away?" she asked shaking her head in stupor. He looked at her and frowned.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"After Anna died, you sent me away! You told me to leave." She said shaking her head more.

"Why? If you told these stories to people about how much you loved me and how I was the only one, then why did you send me away!" she cried. He stopped moving and his eyes dropped to the ground. Caroline rushed forward and grabbed his shirt, she slammed him into the wall and cried.

"Answer me Niklaus. You cannot do this to me anymore. I cannot stand by and love you so much while you toy with my feelings, tell me the truth for once in your life." She said as a sob racked her chest. Caroline dropped her head, but her hands continued to hold him.

"My mother threatened to kill you. She told me if I did not send you away then you would not live another day. She promised to kill you. I thought if I killed her that it would end, but others knew how to kill a vampire as well. I could not risk it, I could not bear losing you like we lost Anna. At least when I sent you away I knew you would still live." He said. Caroline's eyes widened and she felt a surge of joy in her chest. He had been forced, he'd done it out of his love for her. Klaus lifted his hand and touched her cheek softly.

"I could not live my life knowing you were dead Caroline. There has never been another, you're the only one I've ever in my entire life loved. I've been alive over 1000 years and I've never loved another the way that I loved you." he said. Caroline lifted her head and his thumb rubbed gently across her cheek.

"I don't know what else to say." He said shaking his head.

"Don't say anything." Caroline whispered the words as she pressed her mouth over his. She released his shirt as his hands dropped to her back, pulling her closer to him. She opened her mouth to him and his tongue swept along her lips gently. Her hands grabbed the hem of his shirt and she lifted it quickly, tugging it up and over his head. She tossed it to the floor as his hands grabbed hers. He pulled it off and she flipped her hair over her shoulder. Their lips met again and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He gripped her hips and lifted her into his arms. Caroline wrapped her legs around his waist and he kissed her gently, she put her hands along his cheeks and his head pulled back, dropping to her neck, kissing her softly. Caroline moaned softly in his ear and it spurred him on his nips on her neck were soft as he laid her back on the bed. He dropped down and lay over her, his hands working on the button of her jeans as he continued to kiss down her throat and across her chest. Caroline closed her eyes and just felt as he gripped the sides of her jeans and pulled them off along with her panties. Both his hands slid up her thighs slowly, across her hips, his fingertips danced over her breasts and slipped under her as he took hold of her bra clasp and unsnapped it. Her eyes remained closed as her bra fell away and his head dropped downward, his mouth covering her nipple and taking it into his mouth. Caroline arched her back and tried not to be too loud as his teeth scrapped the soft skin slowly. She felt her stomach clench and unclench as passion and sweet ecstasy flowed through her body. She barely felt his hand run down her body, over her stomach, and sink between her thighs. Her legs spread unconsciously and he slid a finger inside her. She arched upward into him and moaned softly.

"Kiss me…kiss me." she whispered. His mouth left her breast and moved upward, finally reaching her lips. They kissed each other slowly and his fingers moved away from her. She vaguely heard him remove his pants before he slid inside her. She cried out in ecstasy and nearly did a back bend as she lifted upward. He moved slowly at first, sliding in and out, in and out, Caroline's mouth opened and her soft gasps and moans encouraged him to move faster. His rhythm picked up and his hips moved quicker. Caroline wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close, lifting her hips off the bed and toward him as they both moved together. Caroline felt like she was climbing a hill, her body moving and working, sweat beading along her chest and forehead, her breathing was heavy as he pushed himself into her over and over. His breathing was the same in her ear, she moaned softly as she felt herself reaching climax. Her nails dug into his back as he pushed her right to the peak of the hill. He pushed into her again and pushed her right over the edge, she cried out and her nails drug down his shoulders and back as she exploded under him, shaking and moaning, his hips moved swiftly and he grunted in her ear as he reached his release as well. They stopped moving, just their heavy breathing could be heard, Caroline's hands stayed along his back, and they just laid there, close to one another, holding one another. The only thing interrupting their sweet passion was the one thought crawling slowly into Caroline's brain, Damon, she had to talk to Damon.

* * *

Caroline lay flat on her stomach, her arms tucked under her head, propping her front up. Klaus was lying on his side facing her, the sheet across their bodies revealing a lot more than it should. His fingers started at her chin, gently touching there, pushing her hair carefully away from her face. Caroline flipped her hair over her shoulder and turned her face toward him. His fingers danced down her shoulder and slowly made there way across her back coming to rest along her spine.

"I'd forgotten how absolutely breathtaking you were." He said as his index finger scraped down her spine, causing shivers to run through her. She smiled at him through heavy lids and looked down across his chest. Tattoos along him made her grin and his fingers skated down the back of her bare thigh.

"When did you get these?" she asked as she reached out and gently touched the tattoo that started on his arm. The feather that burst into birds as it sprinkled out onto his chest.

"Not long ago." He said. She nodded and laid her head down on her arms. He dropped down and pressed a soft kiss to her shoulder blade.

"You never did say if you ever went to Chicago with Kedah." He said. Caroline smirked and nodded.

"We did go. We didn't get there until the 20s, which if I may say, were magnificent, but we only stayed a short time, Kedah was searching for Koda at that time, so we never stayed anywhere long."

"I'm surprised we didn't run into one another." Klaus said.

"You were in Chicago in the 20s?" she asked with a slightly surprised face.

"I was." He nodded. Caroline smiled, "I wonder how many times we almost ran into one another." Caroline said.

"There is no telling." He smirked and ran his hand up and over her back.

"I can hear everyone gathering downstairs." She said as he pulled back a little and pressed his lips to the base of her neck.

"They can wait." He said as he kissed lower down her back. Caroline smiled widely as a knock sounded on the door.

"It's time to make a plan." Rebekah's high pitched voice rang through.

"I'm coming." Klaus shouted as he reached for Caroline. She rolled away from him and slid off the bed, standing quickly.

"Come on." She said as she grabbed up her clothes and began to put them back on. He rolled to his back and groaned, but finally threw the covers away and stood up. Caroline pulled her hair out of her shirt and tugged it over her shoulders, trying her best to not look like she'd just rolled out of bed. Caroline threw a smile over her shoulder and she left the room as he dressed. She walked down the stairs and spotted Damon and Elena walking through the front door. Both were laughing and smiling, Elena flipped her hair over her shoulder and Damon nudged her with his shoulder and she laughed and shoved him playfully. Caroline found herself smiling, not fuming with insane jealousy like she had when Klaus and Maggie had hugged. What was that she was feeling? Happy? Was she happy for him? Despite the smile on her face though, she felt a pang of something in her chest was it jealousy? No, not jealousy, maybe sadness, maybe the fact that she was witnessing him fall in love with someone else, no not fall, he had already fallen, he was in love with Elena. He looked up and spotted Caroline, his eyes widened a bit and he stopped his flirtatious behavior.

"Don't stop on my account." Caroline smiled and stepped off the last stair. Both looked slightly shocked to see her and she continued to smile.

"Where is everyone?" she asked. Damon slipped his hands into his pockets and nodded toward the back room.

"Family room." he said. Caroline nodded and bit her bottom lip slightly.

"See you two in there." she said turning toward the room. Elena nodded enthusiastically and Damon pursed his lips as Caroline walked toward the room. The door was open as she stepped through. Kedah and Koda were standing along the back of the couch, Stefan was perched on the arm of the couch, Rebekah was seated very close to him on the couch, Bonnie sitting at the other end, Maggie stood at the front of the room, and a woman Caroline did not know was standing in between Kedah and Koda. She was cute, with her medium length red hair, soft hazel eyes, and a slender frame. Footsteps behind her brought Damon and Elena into the room, followed closely by Niklaus. His hand shot out and rubbed across her back before anyone could see. It surprised her slightly but she found herself smirking and shaking her head.

"This is Fallynn, she's the witch that Patrick approached. She's also very strong and she's willing to help us." Kedah said as she nodded to the red haired girl. They acknowledged her and Klaus spoke up.

"So, we have two options. Option one, we find a way to reverse the infection in the humans and then kill Patrick, or option two, we find him and his witches, force him to reverse the infection, and then kill him." he said.

"We could try both." Elena shrugged.

"If the witches start messing around and stirring up the balance here, then they will find out." Caroline said. Bonnie and Fallynn nodded in agreement.

"Witches cannot work within the same vicinity without alerting other witches. We can feel it." Fallynn said.

"From the moment we crossed into New Orleans I've felt the power coming from the witches, radiating out. While they aren't very strong individually, they are strong together." Bonnie said.

"We need to find out how many witches he has and who they are. The only way we can stop him is if we get rid of his power. His power lies within those witches, we stop them, we stop him." Damon said.

"You said you felt the power Bonnie? Does that mean that the witches have to constantly keep this spell up?" Klaus asked.

"It feels like it. It's almost like they are rotating, constantly switching in between witches so they can keep it up. You can feel it when they shift, some aren't as strong as others are. But if you had them all constantly keeping the spell up then they would wear themselves out in a very short time." Bonnie said.

"Can you tell how many there are?" Stefan asked.

"No, I've tried counting but it's hard to tell which ones are switching and which are staying, it's impossible to tell." She said.

"My aunt is with the coven, he's brainwashed them all. I know these women, I've met them, they would never knowingly harm others through magic, it's not what they do." Fallynn said.

"Do you know how many are in the coven?" Rebekah asked. She shook her head.

"No clue, last time I met the coven there were six witches, and that was four years ago. There is no telling how many they have now." she said.

"Can you see your aunt?" Elena asked.

"Impossible, I tried. Every since he moved into the home with them, no others have gone through those doors. If she knew I was helping all of you, I'd be in just as much trouble." Fallynn said.

"So you know where they are?" Klaus asked.

"Yes I do, but I won't tell you unless you promise not to hurt the witches. They don't know what they are doing, he has them brainwashed." She said. Caroline looked to Klaus, he was grinding his teeth, she could tell.

"Niklaus." She said gently. He didn't move, she stretched her hand out and ran her fingertips down his forearm. He looked to her and frowned briefly, his lips going into that look he made when he was thinking. He stared at Caroline for what felt like an eternity before he turned back to the girl.

"Fine, I will not hurt your witches." He said. Caroline breathed out and smiled.

"We'll have to find another way." Damon said.

"Do they ever leave the house?" Stefan asked.

"I'm not sure." Fallynn said. Caroline smirked and stood up.

"Well, whose up for a stake out?" she asked.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

"This is awkward." He said.

"Only because you're making it awkward." She smirked.

"I'm not making it awkward." He rolled his eyes.

"You're making snarky comments and I have to listen to it. My only response to your comments is silence." She said.

"And silence makes it awkward." He said.

"You're comments make me silent." She said.

"Fine, we'll try a different approach. How was your day Caroline?" he asked.

"It was perfect Damon, how was yours?" Caroline asked. Somehow they'd ended up in the car together, spying on the house that contained the witches and Patrick. Kedah, Koda, and Fallynn were going to gather supplies. Elena, Stefan, and Bonnie were doing research, Klaus and Maggie were looking up old contacts. Which left Caroline and Damon, without a job and stuck in the car together, not a good plan, not a fun night.

"It was dandy." Damon said.

"You seemed happy when you returned." Caroline said as she glanced at the overly large white house.

"Elena makes me happy, like you used to." He said. Caroline nodded and nibbled her bottom lip.

"I can tell she makes you happy, she's a sweet girl." Caroline said.

"She's too good for me." he said. Caroline snorted and chuckled.

"What does that make me?" she asked with a smile.

"Way too good for me." he said shaking his head and grinning. Caroline chuckled and shook her head as well.

"You're a great catch Damon, any girl would be lucky to have you." she said.

"What about you?" he asked. Caroline turned to him quickly, her brow furrowed. She didn't know what to say to that. As much as she loved Damon, she wasn't sure she was still in love with him, and even more she didn't think he was still in love with her either. He'd moved on, like she'd wanted him to do. He looked at her now, with somewhat hurt sad eyes, and she just shook her head, her mouth open, not able to come up with a response.

"Look." He said pointing. Caroline turned her head, thanking the lord above for saving her from that. She stared at the door as the man she knew to be Patrick Warren walked out.

"That's him, that's Patrick." Caroline said. They watched as he walked down the path, through the front gate and down the street toward town.

"Why did he wait until night?" Damon asked.

"Maybe he doesn't have a daylight ring." She said.

"All those years without seeing the sunlight." Damon said shaking his head.

"Well that's one advantage we have on him." Caroline said. Caroline looked down at the clock on the radio.

"We should head back, we've been here all day and the only thing we've seen is Patrick come out." She said. Damon nodded and cranked the car.

"Well at least we have something to report back." he said as he hit the gas.

* * *

Three days later after they'd all done separate shifts at the house, they'd figured out that Patrick left every night at the same time. Where he went they didn't know, but they knew he was gone for a little over an hour every night, and then he returned.

"She should be back by now." Koda said looking to his sister. Kedah nodded and crossed her arms as they stared out the window, waiting.

"She'll be back, just give her a little longer." Caroline said from behind them.

"And then what? We send the troops in after her?" Koda said turning quickly. Kedah put her arm on his shoulder.

"One of us will go get her." Caroline said.

"Yes, because I'm sure your boyfriend is going to let you run off and rescue someone who could be dead for all you care." Koda said waving his hand.

"Relax, we care about some humans." Damon said as he walked into the room.

"Damon." Caroline hissed, trying to keep him from making the situation worse.

"Mind your own business." Kedah said to him.

"Control your brother." Caroline said to Kedah in her calmest voice.

"She doesn't control me. My girlfriend is out there at a house where a known killer lives. He wants vampires dead, she's helping vampires, and you sent her right to him. If Fallynn dies, it's blood on your hands." Koda said coming up close to Caroline. She ground her teeth and growled softly.

"Get out of my face." she said.

"Or what?" he asked. Caroline exploded, her hands hit his chest hard and he flew across the room, slamming into the wall right next to the window and falling to the ground.

"I'm a lot older than you Koda and I don't want to hurt you, cool down." Caroline said. He roared and lunged forward, Damon stepped in, grabbing Koda's arm and slinging him backward again. Kedah growled and went for Damon.

"Kedah stop this!" Caroline yelled. Koda jumped off the ground and came at Caroline again, this time she was ready. She reached out and grabbed his neck, lifting him off the ground slightly and slamming him hard onto his back, her hand still wrapped around his neck. Before she could clench her hand she was ripped backward away from him and two arms closed around her waist tightly, holding her arms next to her sides. Someone raced past her vision and Rebekah had her arms tight around Koda, Stefan was holding Damon, and Elena had her arms around Kedah.

"What the hell is going on?" Klaus said in her ear. He was holding her tightly and she stopped struggling, she knew she wouldn't get away from him.

"That bitch threw me across the room." Koda said nodding toward Caroline.

"Watch it." Both Damon and Klaus said simultaneously. They looked at each other briefly before turning back to Koda.

"I did shove him, he got in my face, yelling about Fallynn." Caroline said.

"She came at me when I stopped her brother from hitting Caroline." Damon said jerking his head down at Kedah.

"Protecting his girlfriend, as usual." Kedah said.

"Kedah." Caroline said softly, wondering why her friend was turning against her.

"He's my brother Caroline. I like you, but you're not blood." she said.

"Girlfriend?" Klaus asked. Caroline froze, she'd missed that part. Kedah snickered and shook her head, "She hasn't told you?" Kedah asked.

"Elena get her out of her." Rebekah said. Elena nodded and moved toward the door with Kedah.

"Stop, what is she talking about?" Klaus asked. Caroline shook her head quickly.

"Nothing, she's just trying to start something." Caroline said.

"Yeah, it's nothing Klaus, let Elena get her away." Rebekah said. He released Caroline and she stumbled forward, she turned toward him, his face was one of confusion and anger.

"Everyone in this room knows something I do not, stop playing games and tell me." he said. Caroline's mouth opened and closed briefly and then closed her eyes, she had to tell him.

"She had a 28 year relationship with him." Kedah said quickly. Caroline whipped around.

"Get her out of here!" Rebekah yelled. Stefan released Damon and helped Elena drag Kedah out.

"What?" Klaus asked. He stood in front of her, staring, confused and now clearly hurt.

"I met Damon in 1866. Long after we were together, we were parted in 1894 by Mikael. He was hunting you and kept finding us. We decided the best way to hide was separate. We have been apart since then, I was just reunited with him same as you." Caroline said. Klaus stared at her and frowned, shaking his head.

"And you just now decided to tell me?" he asked.

"I couldn't find a good time Niklaus. We've had nothing but crazy since we met again. I was going to tell you, I swear." Caroline said.

"When?" he asked. Caroline shook her head hurriedly.

"Whenever this was all over." she said.

"And have you been with him like you've been with me since you returned?" Caroline opened her mouth to speak but she was cut off, "Have you been toying with both of us?" he asked loudly. Caroline opened her mouth again, but he continued.

"Did you sleep with him? Have you had sex with him?" He asked. She tried to speak but couldn't.

"I don't want to hear anymore." He said waving his hand.

"Niklaus." Caroline said softly, tears coming to her eyes, "I'm sorry." She said. He turned sharply and left the room before she could speak another word. He was hurt, Caroline had hurt him, the only other time she'd seen that look on his face was the day that Anna died. She closed her eyes as a tear fell. What had she done?


	21. Chapter 21

**As always, thank you for the reviews! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 21**

Caroline pushed the door open to the painting room. Niklaus was downstairs pacing, and she wanted to give him his space. She walked into the room and smiled at the painting of herself on the wall. She continued forward and walked around the room, running her hands over the drawings and different canvases. She stopped suddenly when she spotted something. Her hand moved quickly as she shoved some other things out of the way and she lifted up the drawing.

"Anna." She breathed out. It was a picture of her daughter. She'd forgotten how beautiful she was. She sat the drawing down as a canvas caught her eye. It was sitting behind two others, propped up on the wall. She pushed the others aside and she beamed.

"Oh my Anna." She said softly as she ran her fingers over the soft lines of the painting. Her blonde hair shone, her bright blue eyes standing out. She was just as she remembered her, her smile beaming off the picture, a beautiful angel. Caroline's head whipped around as she heard feet running toward the house. She paused and listened, when she heard the wood of the door being kicked down, she dropped the picture and ran forward out of the room just as a gunshot went off. Caroline froze, her heart shooting to her throat, another gunshot ran out and Caroline jerked into action. Caroline rushed to the stairs and grabbed the railing, propelling herself over the edge. Her feet landed on the floor, the front door was wide open, she rushed toward the gathering room, where she heard noises. She was in the room in a heartbeat. Klaus was lying on the floor, blood, everywhere. She tried to move forward but she could only come within inches of him. She tried again and banged into something.

"Niklaus!" she yelled, shoving hard against the invisible field that contained her.

"Like that?" a stern voice said. Caroline turned quickly. Patrick was standing in the corner of the room, shot gun in hand. Next to him on both sides where girls, one was holding Maggie by her hair, a blade pressed firmly against her throat, Caroline could see a small trail of blood running down her neck.

"I'm so sorry, he said if I didn't invite him in he'd kill me. I'm so sorry." Maggie said. Caroline waved her hand and her eyes looked at Klaus briefly as he started to move slightly.

"What did you do?" Caroline asked.

"My girls here are stronger than you all think. Two boxes, one for each animal. And that inside him dear is buckshot." He lifted the barrel and tapped the first side of the shotgun.  
"Silver on this side." he said, "White oak on this side." he smirked. Caroline paled, how did he know about that.

"Sorry Caroline, he had Fallynn. I gave you all up to get her." Said a voice. Caroline whirled and saw Koda walking in.

"You son of a bitch!" Caroline said as she lunged forward, she hit the invisible wall again and growled. Where were the others? Where had they gone?

"He'll die slowly. I'll let you live long enough to watch it, but I'll come for you sweetie, don't you worry." Patrick said. A groan escaped Klaus's lips and Caroline looked down.

"We should get going, before the others return." The one holding Maggie said.

"Finish her." he said nodding to Maggie.

"No! Leave her alone! Please!" Caroline screamed. The girl smirked and drove the blade into Maggie's abdomen.

"No!" Caroline screamed and slammed her hands into the wall that kept her contained. Patrick smirked and waved his hands. They turned to leave.

"You won't get away with this, I'll get out of here and I swear to everything in the whole world, I will kill you the way I killed your piece of shit son!" Caroline growled. Patrick turned and glared, Caroline could tell she'd hit a nerve by the way his eyebrow twitched. But he quickly recovered and smirked.

"You won't get to me Caroline sweetie." He said before he turned on his heel and left. Caroline listened as he left before she dropped to her knees. She was so very close to Klaus, so close, but she couldn't touch him, her hand stopped right where his arm lay, she couldn't touch him.

"Niklaus, come on, wake up, come on." She said softly. His head moved a little and she looked up to Maggie. She was gasping on the floor, blood pouring from the wound.  
"Maggie, Maggie hang on ok?" Caroline called. Maggie nodded and coughed, Caroline's eyes searched frantically.

"Maggie, grab that shirt, put it over the wound and press down hard. It will hurt, but it will stop the bleeding." She said. Maggie reached a shaky hand up for the spare shirt sitting on the edge of the couch. She grabbed it and jerked it down, pressing it over the wound. She groaned loudly but nodded.

"Is he ok?" she asked nodding toward Klaus.

"I can't touch him, I don't know. The silver and the white oak together, I don't know what it will do to him." she said looking down at him. His eyes were blinking and Caroline watched as blood slowly pooled on the floor.

"Niklaus, Niklaus." She said lowering herself. His head turned to face her and he blinked.

"Caroline." He said softly, with a tight lipped smile.

"Please, stay with me ok, please." Caroline said. He gritted his teeth and his eyes closed tightly as he tried to move his arms. A loud groan seeped through his lips and he coughed.

"Be still, they will be back soon. Just hold still." She said. He head was turned toward her and his eyes opened again. Caroline laid down in the floor, reaching her hand out and pressing it against the wall as his eyes closed again and stayed closed.

"Hey, hey come on, tell me about those pictures upstairs, the ones of Anna." She said. He smirked and shook his head as his eyes opened back up.

"You found those?" he asked. Caroline nodded and smiled, her eyes tearing up.

"You captured her so well. She is just as I remember." Caroline said.

"Maggie are you still with me!?" Caroline called.

"I'm here." Maggie grunted.

"What's happened to Maggie?" Klaus asked.

"Patrick's witch stabbed her." Caroline said. Klaus moved his head and moaned again.

"Be still." Caroline said again. Caroline heard footsteps, slow at first, then rushing, all feet running forward.

"Caroline, Niklaus, Maggie!" their voices all mingled together as they rushed into the room. Caroline turned to them.

"Someone grab Maggie, get her to the hospital!" Caroline pointed. Elena ran forward and lifted Maggie quickly.

"I got her." Elena said rushing from the room. Rebekah tried to reach her brother but was hit with the barrier.

"Patrick was here, his witches too. He put up these barriers, we can't get out, I can't touch him. Bonnie, please do something, it's silver and white oak." Caroline said.

"Where did he get white oak?" Rebekah asked pushing hard against the barrier.

"I don't know. But Koda gave us up to get Fallynn." Caroline said.

"I'll kill that bastard." Damon growled. Klaus coughed and blood sprayed from his mouth.

"Not right now, just please, do something." Caroline said as she laid back down, facing him.

"Hey, come on look at me ok." Caroline said. Klaus's head turned and he smiled at her. Caroline felt tears running from her eyes.

"I need to tell you something." He said weakly.

"No, no you can tell me after, not right now, don't do that, don't say anything." She said shaking her head. He smiled and his eyes blinked slowly.

"I don't think I'm coming out of this one Caroline. You'll be fine though." He said. Caroline shook her head and a sob racked her chest as tears fell faster.

"You're going to be fine, just fine. You have to be ok." She said.

"I'm sorry for sending you away. I should have fought harder for you. We should have been together all this time." He said.

"Stop it Niklaus, stop talking that way, you're not going to die." Caroline said.

"Damon will take care of you, he has an ok heart, he won't hurt you." Klaus said with a small smile.

"You sired all of us, we'll all die with you." Stefan said hurriedly. Klaus coughed and laughed at the same time, more blood ran down his lips.

"My sires will live, I was never a full vampire, I was the first hybrid, my bloodline will not die because they are different than other vampires, my blood is different. I cannot explain it, but you all will be fine." He said.

"None of that matters at all if you're not here." Caroline said.

"Take care of her Damon." He said.

"That's not my job Klaus, you're going to stay and take care of her, she needs you." Damon said. Caroline looked up at him, his eyes were clouded with sadness but he nodded at her and Caroline turned back to Klaus.

"You have to stay, you know why?" she asked. His eyes blinked and he looked at her as she pressed her hand to the barrier again.

"Why?" he asked, another groan pushed out of his lips.

"Because I love you." Caroline whispered. His eyes widened and his mouth opened a little.

"I love you so much Niklaus. I've never loved another in the same way. You're my heart and soul, the very reason I exist, and if you die you might as well take me along because I cannot live without you. I love you more than the moon loved the sun. Please, please don't leave me." Caroline said. Klaus smiled and closed his eyes. Caroline could hear Rebekah's sobs breaking through the silence.

"Tell me about the moon." he said. Caroline wept and more tears rolled.

"The moon didn't use to be that high in the sky, it used to float close to the sun, both of them were together. The moon and the sun loved each other very much. Then the sun had to leave, it had to go far far away to help light other people's worlds. The moon was devastated, he cried for days. The sun cried too, she was heartbroken that she had to leave her one true love. But because the sun and the moon gave up their love for each other to help others, the earth promised that she would bring them back together, and every once in a while the earth keeps her promise and the sun and the moon meet again, they play, laugh, love, and when they have to part they always say to each other," Caroline paused.

"True love never dies." Klaus whispered the words and breathed out. Caroline waited for his chest to move.

"Niklaus…" she said getting to her knees.

"NIKLAUS! PLEASE!" She sobbed and slammed her hands against the barrier. He didn't move, his eyes stayed closed and Caroline's heart came crashing down.

"NIKLAUS!"


	22. Chapter 22

**IT IS MY BIRTHDAY! So in honor of my birthday, I'm posting a new chapter for you all. As a gift to me, everyone who favorites this story or likes it should drop me a review, even if it is one line. Thanks for all you guys do!**

**Chapter 22**

Rebekah was a wreck, trying with everything inside her to get to her brother who lay motionless on the floor. Stefan stood behind her, trying to calm her, Damon felt himself breaking for the girl inside the cage. Caroline was a mess, clawing at the invisible field between her and Klaus. Tears streaming down her face not ceasing for a moment. Her heartbreaking screams racked Damon's whole body and a slow realization flooded over him. She never belonged to him. She was something that he'd thought he'd loved, and he was sure she thought she loved him too, but it was all fake. They never loved each other, if this was love, this intense passion and emotion she showed for Klaus, then no, their love was not anywhere near this. Somehow though, he was ok with that, they'd had fun, and the past was the past. He truly loved Elena, and if they were ever going to move on with each other, then he and Caroline would have to admit to each other that while they did love each other, they were not in love with each other.

"I've got it!" Bonnie screamed as she rushed back to the group, "Move, move, get back!" Bonnie yelled. They all moved back quickly and she rubbed her hands together, creating some sort of friction. She jerked back quickly and slammed her hands into the barrier. It sizzled, it actually sizzled and a loud hiss echoed around the room before the barrier exploded, it slammed into them and fizzled out. Damon looked at Caroline as she took a deep breath and then she snapped into action.

"Niklaus, Niklaus." She said grabbing his face in her hands and shaking him. Everyone moved quickly as Caroline slid underneath his head.

"Get those out of him, I'll feed him, hurry up!" Caroline instructed. Rebekah, Stefan, and Damon dropped down around him and began to dig for the pellets that littered his body.

"I've got you, come on." Caroline was whispering to him. Damon looked up briefly as she lifted her wrist to her mouth and bit down hard. She used her other hand to push his chin down and she put her wrist in his mouth. Caroline lifted her hand and ran her fingers through his hair.

"Come on, drink, just a little, just take a sip, come on baby." She said as she continued to run her hand over his hair. Damon listened to her coo softly to him as he removed the pellets. Caroline waited, her heart pounding, her stomach in knots, but finally she felt a soft tug on her wrist and everything inside her came fluttering back to life with a bang.

"He's drinking, he's drinking." She said happily as tears rolled down her cheeks. Damon lifted a hand and placed it on her shoulder giving a gentle squeeze. She looked up at him and smiled through her tears.

"Thank you." she said softly. Damon nodded at her and looked over at Stefan and Rebekah as they finished pulling the pellets from his body. Caroline looked down at Klaus's face as it twisted and contorted with pain, but finally the lines on his face relaxed, she gently pulled her wrist back and his eyes fluttered open, their soft blue staring into hers.

"Hey." She whispered. A tear fell down from her eye and landed on his cheek. She wiped it gently away and he smiled at her.

"You love me." he said quietly. Caroline laughed and shook her head.

"Out of all the things you could say, that is the first thing you choose." She said. Rebekah and Stefan chuckled.

"It's the only thing that matters." He said.

"You're a fool." She said.

"Only for you." he remarked.

"And you're also a huge cheese ball." Rebekah said with a chuckle.

"Let's get you up." Caroline said. She stood quickly, followed by Stefan, Damon, Rebekah, and Klaus stood up last.

"First things first, we need to make sure Maggie is alright and second, where in the hell did he get white oak?" Klaus asked.

"Maggie is going to be fine." Elena said as she walked in. They turned to her and Caroline noticed the small smile that edged its way onto Damon's mouth.

"The knife missed all her vital organs, the doctor said she'll just end up with a nasty scar." Elena said. Klaus nodded and Caroline smiled, she was glad Maggie was going to be ok.

"I noticed he has no ring, no necklace, nothing, which means he can't go out in the sunlight, but since Maggie invited him in, that puts us at risk now that he can come and go whenever he pleases." Caroline said.

"We need to move, and fast. He won't know where we've gone, and that will give us a little more time to figure out what to do." Stefan said. They nodded in agreement and Caroline smirked.

"I've got an idea." she said.

"What?" Damon asked.

"Pack your things. We leave in an hour." Caroline said turning to go up the stairs.

* * *

"Do you still have feelings for him?" Klaus asked as Caroline folded her clothes and neatly placed them in her bag. Caroline sighed and stood up straight, she shrugged.

"It's complicated." She said.  
"How is it complicated? You said you love me, do you love me or do you love him?" Klaus asked.

"I do love you Niklaus. That has not changed and I doubt it ever will, but I care for Damon as well. I am not sure in what way I care for him, but I do. Plus, Damon and I were together a long long time after you and I. You have no right to be so butt hurt." She said.

"Butt hurt?" he asked cocking an eyebrow.

"Yes Klaus, butt hurt. Let's not forget that you kicked me out on the street." She said.

"We've discussed that." he said as he put some clothes in his bag.

"Yes we have, and I've forgiven that. But I don't think the infamous Niklaus Mikaelson has been a saint over these past years." She said.

"And what is that suppose to mean?" he asked.

"Just how many women have been in your bed?" Caroline asked. Klaus left his packing and slipped his arms around her waist, pulling her to him.

"None of them were as special as you." he said. Caroline chuckled and shook her head.

"That doesn't negate from the fact that they were still in your bed. So we'll make a deal, you get over Damon, and I won't hunt down all the different harlots that you've slept with." Caroline said. Klaus chuckled and pursed his lips.

"Well, it took me nearly dying for you to admit your feelings for me, so maybe we should see if Damon's near death experience will make those feelings appear. It can be arranged." He said.

"Jealousy is not cute." Caroline said as she pulled away and continued to pack.

"I'm not jealous." he said.

"You're so jealous." she smirked. He gave her a small smiled and she continued to pack.

* * *

Three hours later they sat in front of a medium sized house that was owned by a young man. They'd found him through the local university directory, two bedroom house with no roommates.

"Ok, come on." Caroline said as she climbed out of the SUV they'd borrowed. The others followed and she handed Stefan the keys.

"You three go over there and duck behind the edge of the house. Bekah, Elena, Bonnie, come with me." Caroline said. The guys gave questioning looks but Caroline wiggled her eyebrows and went up the steps to the house, the other girl's close on her heels.

"Play along." She said over her shoulder as she knocked heavily on the door. Within seconds the door was pulled open and the young man stood on the other side. A large smile covered his face when he noticed the four women at his door.

"Hi there, I'm Carly, this is Bethany, Brittany, and Erica. And we somehow managed to lock our keys in our vehicle." Caroline chuckled. He smiled and ran his eyes over the girls.

"It happens." He smiled.

"Is there any way we can come in and use your phone? We decided on a cell phone free girl's night, you never know how much you need them until times like this." Elena said with a small smile. Rebekah twisted her hair around her fingers and smiled.

"My daddy owns a car shop, he can unlock it better than anyone else." Rebekah said. Bonnie laughed and nodded and the other girl's chimed in with laughter.

"That's true he can, he can really unlock a car." Caroline said. The man laughed with them and nodded. Caroline looked inside the house and smiled.

"This is a lovely house, is it yours?" she asked. He looked back inside the house and nodded.

"I bought it a few years back when I transferred here." he said.

"Wow, how nice. So would you mind terribly letting us use your cell phone?" Rebekah said.

"Yeah, yeah, you guys come in, I'll get my cell." He said as he turned for the living room. The girl's walked in and nodded, Caroline's plan had worked. When he returned he passed the phone to Caroline and she grasped his wrist, pulling him close to her.

"Go to the door and invite the men in, we're family, cousins from London, you tell no one about us being here, you will go about your daily activities as usual." Caroline said. He nodded slowly and Caroline released him as he walked toward the door. After he invited Klaus, Stefan, and Damon in, Caroline took his wrist again.

"You invite no one else into this house." She said. He nodded and she let him go.

"Smart girls." Klaus smirked.

"Well there are two bedrooms, I assume one is his. Someone can take the other and we'll just kind of sleep here and there." Damon said.

"You take it Caroline." Elena nodded.

"No, I don't mind sleeping on the floor. Someone else can take it." she smiled.

"No, we're all good, you can have the bed." Stefan said with a nod.

"Well then, I'm going to bed then. See you all in the morning." Caroline smiled and went to go upstairs.

"Wait wait, we need to discuss a plan." Klaus said waving his hands. Caroline chuckled and shook her head.

"We've all had a long day Klaus, let's not do this now." she said. He looked up at her and frowned, opening his mouth to say something else, but Caroline reached down and slipped her hand into his.

"Come to bed." she said tenderly. Her eyes fell to Damon as he slipped his hands into his pockets and looked at the ground. She bit her bottom lip and turned back to Klaus as his grip on her hand tightened and he followed.

"Goodnight." Caroline called as she pulled him behind her. Everyone grunted their replies, except for Damon. She really needed to talk to him.

* * *

Caroline's eyes fluttered open as the morning sun touched her skin. She blinked against the light shinning in her eyes and then smiled when she felt the warm skin underneath her cheek, the calloused palm that rested on her lower back, the chest that rested ever so slightly under her palm. She moved slightly, looking up at the man next to her, holding her. He was beautiful, and she remembered laying like this with him on so many different occasions. She couldn't remember the last time they'd laid together though, just laid together and been perfectly content. His god like features brought her in, that golden hair, his high cheekbones, and the full lips that called for her to kiss them. She pressed upward in the bed and dropped her lips against his. His response was slow; his hand tightened on her hip, pulling her closer, his other hand coming up slowly to touch her face, finally he opened his mouth and kissed her back, their mouths moving over one another, together, in perfect synchrony. She smiled and let her palm run down his chest gradually, making sure she felt every single bit of him. Finally they pulled away from one another and she found herself nearly lying on top of him, his right hand gripping her arm, holding her, his left holding her hip tightly.

"Good morning." She said.

"Mmmm, Great morning." He responded.

**A/N: Remember my birthday wish! If you don't know what it is, read the top again! THANKS!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Thank you for the happy birthday reviews! You guys are great. Thank you for all you do and enjoy!**

**Chapter 23**

"Well, now that our little volunteer witch is out of the picture, we need another way to get those witches out of the house and away from Patrick." Damon said.

"Or we get Patrick away from the witches." Elena said. Caroline shook her head.

"He's not stupid, he knows he is not strong enough to take on six vampires alone, two of which being originals. There's no way he'll leave the safety of his witches." Caroline said.

"Everyone has a weakness." Klaus spoke up finally and their eyes turned to him.

"Everyone has a weakness, if we find his, we can exploit it and we can take him down." he said.

"Not everyone has a weakness though Niklaus." Rebekah said.

"Yes they do. Yours is family Bekah." Caroline smiled, "You have an unyielding devotion to your family and that is very special." Caroline said. Rebekah paused and smirked, shaking her head.

"Mine is compassion. I have concern and empathy for people." Elena said softly.

"Blood." Stefan said nodding.

"Love, I love hard and I don't let it go." Caroline whispered.

"Beautiful, compassionate, loving women." Damon said with a small smirk.

"Caroline." Klaus said. Caroline's eyes turned to him, "The only weakness I've ever had is Caroline." He said. Caroline felt her heart swell and she smiled.

"Awww." Rebekah said as she put her hand over her heart.

"But the thing we have to remember, is that our greatest weaknesses are also our greatest strengths. Family is loyal and they love you no matter what, they make you strong Bekah. Compassion allows you to remain human, despite being a vampire Elena. Blood is what you live on, and even though it may make you want to go crazy, you're able to restrain yourself and that makes you strong Stefan. Damon, the fact that you can still fall for those women, shows your true soul and that soul makes you powerful. And Niklaus, I may be your weakness, but together, we're stronger than we ever were apart." She said. Damon pulled a face and glared.

"We have to do this together, if we're not all on the same page and united, then we'll fail." Stefan said. Caroline looked at Damon, who had his arms crossed and she sighed.

"Can we talk?" she asked him. The others shared looks and Damon continued to glare.

"No, I think I'll pass." He said.

"Damon, don't be an ass. Please?" Caroline asked. He sighed and finally gave in.

"Fine." He said waving his hand, "Lead the way." He said. Caroline held her finger up to the group and they walked from the room. Damon followed her up the stairs and into the bathroom where she closed the door and turned the sink and shower on full blast.

"Keeps the snoopers away." she said. He returned to his previous position, arms crossed, sour face.

"Damon, look, I don't know what to say to you without it hurting both of us. I'll always love you, that will never change. We spent 28 years together, we traveled, we had fun, and we enjoyed our time together." she said.

"Yeah, good idea, remind me of all that." he said glaring. Caroline grabbed his arm and shoved it down.

"Stop acting like that Damon. I know how you feel. I was in the relationship just like you were." She said.

"No, you were never as invested as I was. You've always carried a torch for Klaus." He said.

"And you for Katherine!" Caroline yelled, her anger flaring to life. She closed her eyes and held her hands up, taking a deep breath.

"We came together because we had no one else. You'd lost your brother and a woman that you loved, I'd been lonely for so many years, and when I found you, it was like magic, you were broken, I was there to help, not knowing that I was broken as well. We fixed each other and instead of moving on we stayed together because neither of us believed we'd ever find another as good. I thought my heart had room for someone else, but it didn't Damon, there's never been room for anyone else. I love you so much, but I'm not in love with you." she said quietly. He shook his head and ran his hand through his hair.

"I'm so sorry." She said.

"Don't apologize. It's not your fault. We don't choose who we love." He said.

"Like your love for Elena." Caroline said. He stared at her for a long while and finally his eyes dropped.

"Don't deny it Damon. I know you love her. You deserve happiness, just like everyone else." She said.

"I don't know how I feel. I feel like I love you and I love her, all at the same time." He said shaking his head.

"That's ok Damon. Because I love you and Klaus, but I love Niklaus more. You have to decide which one of us you love more." Caroline said.

"We've been through so much." Damon said running his hand down Caroline's arm.

"We fixed each other Damon, the goal was not for us to stay together, it was for us to use each other to heal, and then move on. It's time for us to move on Damon. We're done healing, we don't need one another anymore, we both have people that care about us and want us in their lives. I love Klaus, he loves me. Elena loves you, and you love her back. Don't be afraid of that; be with her, love her. You deserve it. We deserve happiness." She finished. He stared at her for a long while and then finally his eyes closed and his pulled her against him, wrapping his arms around her, hugging her tightly. Caroline returned the hug, holding him and taking in his warmth.

"We deserve it Damon, we've always deserved it." she said.

* * *

Caroline walked down the hallway, now that her heart to heart with Damon was done, and that was solved, she had one more relationship to tie together. She turned the corner and paused at the door.

"Look at that love struck face." she said. Rebekah smirked and shook her head.

"I don't know what you're talking about Caroline." She said. Caroline walked further into the room and crossed her arms.

"Sure you don't Bekah. Let's see if I can read your thoughts." Caroline said as she walked around Rebekah in a small circle.

"Stefan is so dreamy. Oh I just love his eyes." Caroline said. Rebekah chuckled and shook her head.

"His jaw is so chiseled. His body is glorious. I want to kiss him. I wonder if he wants to kiss me." Caroline continued.

"Stop it." Rebekah said with a laugh. Caroline stopped and smiled.

"So, how many times have you two been together exactly?" Caroline asked.

"Three or four." Rebekah said.

"Ok, so why aren't you two together now?" Caroline asked.

"Because he is in love with Elena." Rebekah responded.

"But Elena is not in love with him." Caroline said.

"He'd never date someone like me Caroline." She said.

"How do you know Bekah? Have you tried asking him on a date?" Caroline asked.

"We've talked a few times about it, but never actually gone out. He's always been obsessed with little miss perfect." Rebekah said.

"Don't be jealous Bekah, it's not cute." Caroline smirked.

"Look, just go for it. Confidence is sexy, be confident and ask him out, he'll be down after he finds that Elena wants his brother, perfect time." Caroline smiled.

"Are you suggesting I prey on him during his time of sadness?" Rebekah asked. Caroline chuckled and shrugged.

"Don't be a rebound, don't give it up early, make him work for it and he'll respect you." Caroline said. Rebekah turned and frowned, "You really think I should go for it?" she asked. Caroline nodded enthusiastically.

"WE all deserve to be happy Bekah, remember that." Caroline called as she walked out the door.

* * *

She could hear him, she could hear the pencil scratching across the paper, he was focused, focused on something important or he wouldn't be scribbling away on the paper like that. Caroline walked up the stairs as quietly as she could and turned into the room. The door was open and she leaned against it, watching him.

"It's not polite to stare." He said without looking back at her. She smirked and crossed her arms as she walked forward.

"What are you drawing?" she asked coming up behind him. She looked over his shoulder and smiled, it was a picture of her, in a field of wildflowers. He was sketching the sun and adding the shading.

"It's beautiful." She said calmly. He nodded and she placed her hands on his shoulders. He stopped drawing and leaned back in the chair.

"I should really ask what you're thinking about." She said using her fingers to gently press into his shoulders.

"What do you mean?" he asked as he lifted his hand and placed it across hers.

"I mean, you always draw when you're thinking, focused on something." She said as she dropped down and placed a small kiss on his cheek. He closed his eyes and chuckled.

"Nearly 1000 years away from you, and you still know me better than any other." He said.

"You're not that complicated." She smirked. He stood quickly, surprising her and his hands closed around her waist, trapping her arms next to her hips. She laughed loudly and didn't fight him.

"We'll see about that." he said with a large smirk.

"We found Koda and Fallynn!" Elena said as she ran up the staircase. Klaus let Caroline go and they met Elena at the door.

"What?" Caroline asked quickly.

"We found them. Damon figured if we found them, then we could bring them back here, and ring information out of them." she said, "So Bonnie and I were doing some looking around using their picture and someone pointed us in the direction of a small bar where they'd just seen them." she finished. They hurried down the staircase as she was talking, meeting, Damon, Stefan, and Rebekah at the bottom.

"Alright, let's go." Caroline said. Klaus grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

"No, not you." he said shaking his head.

"I'm not a flower. I'm a lot older and stronger than Koda." Caroline said.

"And Fallynn is not a strong witch. Get me near her and I can shield her from throwing out any spells or calls for help." Bonnie said.

"That settles it then, Bonnie, Stefan, and Klaus will sit behind us. Rebekah and I will sit with them. I'll handle Koda. Rebekah, you keep your hands on Fallynn. Damon, you and Elena stay here and keep an eye on things." Caroline said. Everyone nodded and they headed out the door.

* * *

They were in the bar before anyone could notice. Bonnie, Stefan, and Klaus slipped into a booth, completely undetected. Bonnie stared straight forward as she put out the shield. When she nodded Caroline and Rebekah took their chance. Caroline dropped into the booth right next to Koda, Rebekah right behind her, sliding in right next to Fallynn. The small blade came out and Rebekah had it pressed in between two of Fallynn's ribs before either of them could move.

"You move and this will slide right between your ribs and pierce your lung, so I suggest you hold still." Rebekah said. Caroline felt Koda tense to move and her hand moved with precise intense speed, she grabbed the knife off the table and drove it in between his legs, inches from his family jewels.

"Next time you move, the boys are coming home with me." Caroline smiled sweetly.

"We didn't know he was going to do that." Koda tried to explain quickly.

"That's ok. We're all fine. Maggie is on the mend and Klaus is over there, and as you can see, he's perfectly healthy." Caroline nodded. Koda's eyes found Klaus and he swallowed hard.

"Now, let me tell you both how this is going to work. You're going to stand up and come with us to our house, once there you're going to share with us every single piece of information you have on the witches and Patrick. If you scream, if you warn anyone, then I cannot be held responsible for what might happen to either of you." Caroline said.

"You don't kill people." Koda said. Caroline reached down quickly and jerked the knife from the seat; she pressed it hard against his manhood.

"You're wrong. I don't kill innocent people. But it's not me you have to worry about. You see, you've managed to piss off not one, but two original vampires. So yeah, you're right, I don't kill people, but they do." Caroline finished.

"Koda." Fallynn said softly, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"Fine, fine, we'll come with you." he said. Caroline smiled and dropped the knife on the table, Rebekah slid her knife down into her boot and they stood.

"Let's go." Caroline said as she dropped some cash on the table and grabbed Koda's arm, hauling him up from the seat. They hurried from the bar toward the waiting SUV. They slipped inside and when the door closed Klaus swung his elbow backward, nailing Koda in the nose and effectively breaking it. Caroline heard the crack and the blood ran down his lips and shirt.

"What the hell!" Koda yelled.

"That's for getting me shot." Klaus said casually.


	24. Chapter 24

**Next chapter will be our final chapter! I hope you guys enjoy!**

**Chapter 24**

Caroline walked up the stairs and paused outside the door to the bedroom she shared with Klaus. Bonnie was sitting cross legged on the floor outside the door. Caroline kneeled and handed her a bottle of water.

"How hard is it to keep that shield up?" she asked. Bonnie smiled and shook her head.

"It's not that difficult as long as I'm close. If I was further away it would take more energy, that's why I'm sitting here." she said. Caroline nodded and nibbled her bottom lip slightly.

"I never got the chance to thank you." she said.

"For what?" Bonnie asked.

"For saving him. You pulled down that cage. Without you, who knows what would have happened." Caroline smiled.

"I know how you feel about him. If you would have asked me to take that cage down a few years back, I would have laughed, but you make him different. He seems gentler when you're around, kind, caring, almost…human." Bonnie said. Caroline nodded and smiled.

"Thank you Bonnie." She said.

"You're welcome Caroline." Bonnie said. Caroline nodded once again before she stood and walked into the room where they were keeping Koda and Fallynn. Koda's nose had healed, all that remained was the blood on his shirt. Fallynn was still terrified, shaking, crying, annoying. Caroline shuffled the water in her hands and passed a bottle to Stefan who was standing guard.

"You can go down, I'll stay for a few." She said to Stefan. He nodded curtly, took the water and walked out the door, pulling it closed behind him.

"Are you going to kill us?" Fallynn asked in a particularly winey voice Caroline didn't like.

"No, I'm not going to kill you. Here." she said handing each a bottle of water. They took it cautiously and Caroline sat down in the chair in front of them and crossed her legs.

"Why aren't you letting us go?" Koda asked.

"Because you'll run and tell. We're not stupid." Caroline said.

"Are those two really originals. Rebekah and Klaus?" Koda asked.

"Yes, they are. Very rare, very hard to kill, and very close to my heart. And you nearly got one of them killed." She said.

"You're in love with him." Fallynn said.

"That is none of your business. But I adore them both, as well as everyone else downstairs." Caroline said.

"If you love him, then you understand why I did what I did. Why I gave you all up to save her." Koda said.

"We could have saved her if you would have trusted us." Caroline said. She heard Klaus and Damon coming up the stairs and she stood.

"Here they come. I suggest you tell them everything you know. Everything." Caroline said.

"We will." Fallynn nodded. Caroline nodded and opened the door, she pulled it closed behind her as they reached the top of the staircase.

"Be nice. Don't kill either of them." Caroline said to Klaus. He moved his eyebrows up and down, thinking. Caroline popped his arm and glared.

"Don't kill them and don't hurt them." she said. He sighed and Damon chuckled as he walked into the room.

"You're killing my reputation." He said with a small smirk.

"I still think you're bad." She said smirking back.

"Ah." He said with a chuckle.

"Go on, I left my phone in the car. Need to run grab it." she said. He nodded and pressed a quick kiss to her lips before she took off down the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Rebekah asked as Caroline passed her.

"Left my cell. Be right back." she said. Rebekah nodded and Caroline pulled the door open. She closed it behind her and skipped down the stairs, she pulled the door to the SUV open and smiled when she spotted her cell phone.

"There you are." She wrapped her hand around it and then she felt something. She spun around quickly.

"Hello Caroline." She barely registered the voice before two hands wrapped around her head and snapped her neck. Her world went black as her body shut down.

* * *

Rebekah heard a noise, a cracking noise. She put the magazine down and stood up. Her feet carried her to the front door and she pulled it open, looking out.

"Caroline." She called. Rebekah looked toward the SUV and saw the door was wide open and Caroline's phone lay on the ground.

"Caroline!" Rebekah wanted to rush down the stairs, but she knew going outside would make her vulnerable. She turned and ran up the staircase, her hand slammed against the door and it flew open.

"Caroline, she's gone!" Rebekah said. Her brother's face was one she'd rarely seen. Pure shock, confusion, anger, scared, worry, the emotions flashed across his face quickly. He sped past Rebekah and down the stairs, going out the front door. Rebekah followed right behind him. The others were on their heels as they came into the front yard. Klaus grabbed her cell phone and looked around, hurriedly.

"I smell something, it's familiar." He said.

"How did they know we were here?" Elena asked shaking her head. Klaus stopped moving, he froze, his eyes widening.

"It's Kedah. I smell her." he growled and sped away. Rebekah and the rest followed quickly. Klaus was in the room, his hand secured tightly around Koda's neck, holding him against the wall.

"How did they know where we were? Who followed you?" he growled. Koda smirked and a quiet chuckled bubbled through the room. Rebekah whipped around and saw Fallynn, sitting on the bed, a smile spread across her face.

"Did you all really think we'd just go sit at a bar, in the broad daylight, where anyone could see us?" she asked. Rebekah growled and ripped her up off the bed.

"You bitch." She said getting in Fallynn's face.

"Oh wait, you haven't heard the best part." Koda said. They turned their eyes back to Koda.

"We've been playing you all from the beginning. When we found Patrick, he promised he would spare us if we helped him bring you in. Kedah told him Caroline was still alive to her knowledge. When we found you, and saw that she was with you, we called Patrick, Kedah said Caroline would trust her. She said Caroline owed her for saving her life. So we came up with a plan. And you all fell for it. You all came here, believing you could actually kill Patrick and solve all of this." he chuckled.

"I've been with Patrick since day one. There's nothing worse than a vampire. Scum, all of you." Fallynn said.

"Patrick and Koda are vampires you idiot." Rebekah said.

"No, we're going to change them back. After we wipe all of you out." She said.

"Kedah followed us here from the bar. I swiped Caroline's phone in the car, dropped it behind me so someone would have to go get it. We weren't counting on being lucky enough to get her. Any of you would have done the job, but we got the big fish. The original vampire's girlfriend. The love of his life. I bet you'd do anything to get her back." Koda smirked and shook his head.

"Your mistake was thinking you could actually protect her." Koda said glaring at Klaus. Rebekah growled and her fangs extended, her eyes turning black slowly.

"I have a question for you Koda. What would you do to stop me from killing the girl you love?" Rebekah asked. His eyes widened and he looked up as Rebekah drove her fangs into Fallynn's neck. She screamed as Rebekah bore down, biting deep into the girl's neck, causing as much pain as she could.

"Stop! Stop it!" Koda screamed. Rebekah pulled back, blood running freely down her lips and neck.

"Where did they take her?" Klaus asked.

"The old Miller Plantation." Koda said, his eyes scanning over Fallynn frantically.

"I've got it." Damon said hitting Stefan. They sped out the door. Klaus knew they wouldn't go in, they were just checking. Less than five minutes later, they were back.

"They are there." Damon said.

"It could be a trap." Elena said.

"I don't care." Klaus said.

"I'm with you." Rebekah said.

"We told you where they are. Let us go." Koda said. Rebekah smirked and grabbed Fallynn's hair with her free hand, keeping her other hand around her neck. She jerked fast and hard and Fallynn's neck snapped and her head came off her neck. Blood sprayed and Rebekah tossed her head at Koda's feet.

"NOOOOO!" He screamed, louder than Rebekah had ever heard anyone scream.

"Your mistake…" Rebekah said slowly as Koda's rage filled eyes lifted to hers.

"Was messing with this family." She said. Klaus let him stare down at his girlfriend's head for a moment longer before he grabbed his hair and did the same thing. Tossing Koda's head down with his girlfriend's.

"Shit." Elena said shaking her head back and forth.

"Let's go." Klaus said pushing past the people crowded at the door. Rebekah followed, right on his heels as they rushed down the stairs.

"We don't have a plan, we have no clue how many witches are in there, if it's a trap or not." Stefan rambled on as Klaus and Rebekah walked out the door.

"A plan won't matter once he gets to her. He'll kill her, he doesn't care about using her as a bargaining chip. He just wants us dead." Klaus said stopping on the porch.

"We cannot let her die. Caroline is the only person who makes me feel like I don't have a gaping hole in my chest. If she is killed, I cannot tell you how I will react. I've lost her once, I will not lose her again." He said.

"I'm coming." Damon said stepping up.

"Right behind you." Stefan said.

"I'm not letting the nicest person in this dysfunctional group get killed." Elena said shaking her head. Bonnie smiled and nodded.

"We'll have to take the SUV, but I'm in too." Bonnie said.

Klaus popped open the front door and jumped in.

* * *

Caroline's head was spinning as she woke up, her vision blurred and the dull ache moved through her brain. The first thing she felt was the sting of the silver wrapped around her wrist, ankles and neck. She slowly remembered what had happened, everything coming back to her. Her eyes flew open and she sat up, jerking at the silver. It burned and she gritted her teeth.

"Careful now, don't want to cut that pretty little head off." Patrick's voice called out. She heard his feet and then he came into her line of vision.

"Sweet Caroline. You know, I always thought you were so beautiful." He reached out and touched her face. Her fangs extended and she hissed at him, jerking away. The silver bit into her skin harder. He chuckled and shook his head.

"All those girls were so jealous of you. They hated you because you snagged a Mikaelson. Niklaus was infatuated with you. With good reason of course. And then sweet little Anna came along. She was gorgeous, just like her mother, she was amazing, and so full of life." He said.

"Until your perverted son snapped her neck." Caroline growled. A hard slap landed across Caroline's cheek.

"Don't you dare talk about him. He was a good boy, he was ill." Patrick said.

"Make all the excuses you want, that sick son of a bitch still murdered a ten year old child. If I hadn't killed him, you can bet your life Niklaus would have, or Rebekah, Elijah, Kol, any of them would have killed him in her name." she said.

"He was my child. You took my child!" Patrick yelled.

"AND HE TOOK MINE!" Caroline screamed back. Patrick paused and then chuckled.

"The past is the past darling girl. Let's get to work here." he said turning to the table that was slightly in the dark, out of her vision. She heard the slide of metal and she stared straight ahead as he came toward her.

"Kill me if you want Patrick, but I promise, Klaus will kill you." she smirked. White hot pain tore through her body and she let out a loud scream, not able to hold it in. When she finally peeled her eyes open and looked down, there was a long metal rod protruding from her shoulder. He chuckled and turned back toward the table when Caroline heard a loud scream. She smiled as Patrick turned wide eyes toward her.

"No, there's no way they knew where we were." He said shaking his head.

"When Kedah snapped my neck, I kind of figured they were all in on it. People just can't help but reveal their plans when they think they've won. I promise Koda and Fallynn spilled the beans. Quick question though, were they a real couple?" Caroline said as she took deep breaths between the pain.

"I don't know, maybe, shut up." Patrick glared as another scream came through. Caroline smirked and shook her head.

"You all messed with the wrong people." She said. Patrick turned to hit her, but the door burst open. It was one of his people.

"They're here, we need help!" she yelled. Patrick pointed at Caroline.

"Watch her." he ordered the girl and then smirked at Caroline. "I'll be back for you." he said and he pushed past the witch and left. The door closed, the witch on the outside and Caroline tried to listen. She couldn't hear much at all, shifting, some yells, some growls. She heard something outside the door, a quick movement and then the door opened. Elena was standing there, blood on her skin where she'd clearly been harmed, but healed.

"There you are!" Elena ran toward her and glared at the silver.

"There's some things over there, try the table." Caroline nodded. She heard a scream she knew to be Rebekah's.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Witches are stronger than we though. Klaus told me to get you out of here." she said pushing stuff around on the table.

"Got it!" Elena lifted a cloth and hurried toward her. She wrapped it around the one on her neck first and jerked it loose. Caroline felt her neck healing as Elena grabbed the rest and pulled them off.

"Help me with this." Caroline nodded the metal pole.

"Ok, hold still." Elena said. Caroline nodded and she grasped the end and jerked. Caroline gasped but relief flooded through her as her wounds healed. Caroline jumped up and rushed from the room, once out the door, Elena turned one way, and Caroline turned toward the screams.

"This way out Caroline." Elena said waving her hand.

"No, I'm not leaving them." Caroline said as she continued running. Elena followed, knowing Klaus would be angry, but he should know better than anyone that no one makes Caroline Forbes do anything she doesn't want to do. Caroline ran right into the chaos. She did a quick count, Damon and Stefan were fighting back to back, taking out as many witches as they could, which turned out to be a lot more witches than they'd expected. Rebekah was screaming, covering her ears, Klaus and Patrick where not here. Caroline ran toward the witch holding Rebekah and she snapped her neck quickly. The witch fell and Rebekah stood, taking a deep breath. Patrick emerged, more witches at his back. Caroline's eyes searched frantically for Klaus, and then a body landed right in front of her. She looked up and smiled, Klaus was at the top of the stairs, he leap over the side and landed in front of her.

"Are you alright?" he asked without turning around.

"I'm fine." She said.

"I told Elena to get you out of here." he said.

"We can discuss that later." She responded. She spotted his small smirked before they rushed forward, grabbing some witches by surprise while the other ones used their powers. Caroline flew backward, slamming into the wall. She jumped to her feet and moved to run forward but a witch stepped into her view. Her fist clenched and her eyes set hard on Caroline. Fire erupted in Caroline's skull and she screamed, covering her ears. Fight it Caroline, fight. She told herself over and over to fight, finally she peeled her eyes open and fought to stand up, pushing herself up to her feet.

"Back…off…bitch." Caroline growled as she stood all the way up, still holding her hands over her ears. Pain flared up again, she felt blood running from her nose, down over her lips. The pain was gone fast as the witch in front of her fell to her knees, a hole in her chest. Caroline looked up at the man behind the dead witch, a bloody heart in his blood covered hand. She was stunned as she stared at him, recalling every detail of the man she hadn't seen in so long. He was very similar to how she remembered him, his hair was different though. Caroline could barely form a sentence as she stared forward.

"Elijah." She whispered.


	25. Chapter 25

**FINAL CHAPTER! Ok guys, I just want to say how incredibly grateful I am to all of you for reading this and following it all the way through. It means so much to have loyal people who read every time I post. Thank you again for your support and I promise there will be more CarolinexKlaus stories in my future and yours! A lot happens in this chapter, so lace up your boots, get your tissues, and let's go!**

**Chapter 25**

"It would appear that once again, my help is needed." He smirked. Caroline was still stunned, she shook her head back and forth as he smiled.

"You better move that ass Caroline." He chuckled and turned, running toward the few witches that were left. Caroline shook her head, breaking herself from her stupor. Her hands worked fast as she wiped the blood from her face, smearing it across her cheek. She rushed forward to help fight but an arm came into her vision and she collided with it, falling backward. She rolled over and saw the girl standing over her.

"Kedah." She growled. Kedah smirked as Caroline pushed herself to her feet.

"I take it my brother came clean about what we did, considering your friends are here." Kedah said.

"I'd be willing to bet your brother is dead." Caroline said.

"Well then you can join him." Kedah said with a loud hiss as she bared her fangs. Caroline rushed her and their bodies slammed into one another. Kedah swung around and slammed her fist into Caroline's cheek, she tasted blood. Caroline ground her teeth and grabbed Kedah's hair, jerking her downward, Caroline's fist came down hard on her throat and Kedah crumpled as Caroline dropped her. Kedah coughed and gagged, but Caroline didn't give her time to gather herself. She reared back and slammed her foot into Kedah's ribs, she felt them crack. Caroline moved to kick her again but Kedah latched onto her foot with her mouth and bit down. Caroline screamed and grabbed the back of Kedah's neck, but Kedah was expecting that and she swung up, hitting Caroline under the chin and sending her backward and into the railing of the staircase. She slammed through the wood and fell on the stairs. The wood scattered around her and she breathed deeply, her side aching. She looked down at the long piece of wood sticking out of her side. Kedah was coming toward her, running more like it. Caroline grabbed the wood in her side and pulled it out as Kedah leapt. Caroline wrapped her hands tight around the wood and shoved upward as Kedah towered over her. The wood sank into Kedah's chest and pierced her heart. Kedah gasped and her wide eyes stared down at Caroline.

"You hit like a bitch." Caroline hissed. She tossed Kedah's body off of her and stood, Kedah had been her friend, but she could care less though, as a brutal scream broke through her head. Her eyes flew around the room, Klaus was on his knees, his hands spread out, opening his chest to Patrick who stood in front of him. The other's where fighting, trying to get around the witches spells. A witch stood next to Patrick, her hand up toward Klaus, holding him still. Patrick had a pole in his hand. A pole was already protruding from Klaus' chest, and Caroline assumed it was silver considering his reaction. Patrick twirled the other pole in his hand and smiled down at Klaus.

"No." Caroline said. A single word released in a breath of air with so much force behind it. Her bare feet pounded on the floor as she ran forward toward him. Patrick drew the pole backward and Caroline felt her heart thrum against her chest as if it was going to rupture at anytime. Patrick stepped forward and Caroline jumped. When she felt the pain in chest she knew he'd hit her with the pole. The silver sizzled against her skin and she gritted her teeth, but she was not dead, the witch broke contact with Klaus, her wide brown eyes coming up to meet Caroline's face. Both she and Patrick were stunned, just long enough for them to react.

"Do it!" Caroline yelled. Pain tore through her as Klaus grabbed the pole from where it was protruding from Caroline's back. He ripped it out and Caroline spun on her heel, ducking down as Klaus came around with the pole. Caroline heard him nail the girl in the ribs and she fell backward, coughing loudly. But Caroline barely had time to think, her hands wrapped around the other pole sticking from Klaus' chest and she jerked downward, pulling it out of him. Caroline spun and swung, aiming for Patrick, but the metal hit the ground, he was fast.

"Behind you!" Caroline yelled as she spotted Patrick behind Klaus, his hands grabbing Klaus' neck quickly. Klaus froze and Caroline knew something was wrong.

"Take one step and I put this stake through his heart." Patrick said.

"It's white oak, I can feel it." Klaus said gritting his teeth. Caroline's eyes scanned the area below her, and she spotted something. A long piece of wood from where the railing of the staircase had broken. The other's where done fighting, all of Patrick's witches were dead. He was all alone.

"If any of you move, I kill him!" Patrick screamed.

"Even if you kill him, you'll never make it out of here alive." Damon reminded him.

"Maybe not, but at least I'll know I killed him first." He said. Klaus' eyes met Caroline and she looked down at the piece of wood right in front of her foot. Klaus' eyes followed hers and then he looked back up.

"I trust you." he said. Caroline knew she wouldn't hurt him with the plain wood, but if she was not fast enough, Patrick would stake Klaus before she could kill him. She was older though, and faster, she could do it. Caroline took a deep breath and Patrick glared at her.

"You're son deserved to die Patrick." Caroline said. His face twisted in anger and Caroline took her chance. She dropped down and grabbed the wood and her hands gripped the bottom tightly as she shoved upward, sending it through Klaus' midsection, behind his heart, out his back, and into Patrick's chest. It felt like time stood still as, what was supposed to be milliseconds felt like five full minutes. Patrick's fell to the ground, and Klaus dropped to his knees. Caroline moved quickly, flying around to his back, her hand running over him. No blood, no stake, nothing. She grabbed the wood and pulled it out of him and threw it away. Caroline was on her knees in front of him, her hands grabbing his face, lifting it upward. His eyes came up and met hers and a sob broke through her chest.

"We're ok." She said nodding.

"We're alive." She whispered. He nodded and his arms went around her waist, holding her tightly against him and their lips met. She kissed him deeply, her hands remaining on his face, his arms holding her to him, not wanting to let her go.

* * *

Elijah leaned behind the oven and knocked the gas line loose, letting the gas spill into the kitchen.

"That's the good thing about these old houses, gas stoves." He said with a small smirk. Caroline was holding the only witch left.

"Now, you have two choices." Elijah said.

"You can remove the infection from the humans and we will let you go free and back to your normal life, or you can say no, and end up like your friends." He said.

"I don't know how." She glared. Caroline's grip on her throat tightened and she hissed in her ear.

"Liar. Patrick had you by his side, you brought down an original, you know how to do it. You have ten seconds to make a decision." Caroline said as she dug her nails around the girls jugular.

"10…9…8…7…6…5…" Caroline counted slowly.

"If you kill me you'll never get rid of the infection." The witch stuttered, Caroline could feel her shaking and she knew she was scared.

"We can live off one another. 4…3…2…" Caroline gripped the jugular and the girl screamed.

"No, no stop! I'll do it!" she cried out. Caroline smiled and let go of the vein.

"I'll need her help though." She nodded toward Bonnie. Caroline looked over at Bonnie and Bonnie nodded. The girl began to babble the spell, the words flowing out of her mouth. Bonnie picked up with her, reciting the spell in the exact same way. In less than a minute Caroline felt the air shift, it was electrified and it shifted hard, causing Caroline to stumble slightly, and then they stopped chanting.

"It's done." the witch said. Caroline looked to Bonnie and Bonnie nodded again. Caroline's hand wrapped in the witches hair and she squeaked.

"I thought you said you'd let me go." she said as tears fell. Caroline held her for a second and then ripped a few strands of hair out of her head. The girl cried out and stumbled forward, rolling to her butt and staring up at Caroline.

"See this, if I ever even suspect you're messing around with my family again, I will use your hair to hunt you down and I will kill you in the most painful way possible." Caroline said. The girl nodded and spun around and ran out of the house.

"You know you can't really do that." Klaus said. Caroline chuckled and dropped the hair.

"I know." she smiled.

"Light the candle in the living room and let's get out of here." Elijah said. Elena was lighting the candle as they walked out the door, she followed behind and Elena closed the door.

"The house is secluded, no one will see the flames, the smoke will bring interested parties, but by then it will be too late. Bodies will be burned up and house will nearly be gone." He said as the climbed into the waiting SUV. They were barely down the drive way when Caroline looked back and saw the flames licking out the windows. Caroline turned and saw Elena reach across the console in the middle of the two front seats. Everyone was busy chatting and she slipped her hand down and into Damon's. Caroline smiled and closed her eyes briefly. She felt Klaus' hand on her knee and she looked up.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly. Caroline nodded and a smile spread across her face. She put her hand over his and took a deep breath.

"I'm amazing." She said. A phone rang and echoed around the car. Elijah moved and pulled a phone from his pocket. He pressed it to his ear.

"Hello." He said. A voice on the other line spoke, but Caroline did not listen in. She gave Elijah his privacy.

"I'll be right there." he said. Klaus looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"We have to go to the hospital. Turn left right here." he pointed.

* * *

Caroline was absolutely positive they were a sight as they walked into the hospital. They all carried smears of blood on their clothes and bodies, as well as dirt from the numerous things they'd broken. Both Caroline and Klaus had holes in their shirts from being stabbed with various things. But Caroline had borrowed a jacket from a woman outside and Klaus had done the same to a man, so they were pretty well hidden. They followed Elijah, because he knew why they were here. Klaus hand was tight in Caroline's as they walked toward a room. Elijah pushed the door open and they stepped to the side. Caroline and Klaus walked in first and Caroline was slightly surprised to see Maggie. She didn't know Elijah knew her. Maggie smiled at them from where she was laying in the bed. She didn't looked well at all. She was pale, sweat covered her face, and she could barely move her arm to wave.

"Maggie." Caroline said gently as she walked toward the bed.

"Hey." She said. Her voice was so low Caroline would not have heard her had she been human. Caroline eased down onto the bed and took Maggie's hand.

"What's going on?" she asked. Klaus came up alongside the bed as the others gathered in the room. She slipped her other hand into Klaus' and she squeezed both their hands. Her grip was incredibly weak.

"I need to tell you both something." she said in a hoarse voice. Caroline nodded quickly.

"Anything." Caroline said.

"I got really sick about a year ago, it felt like the flu. I didn't go to the doctor because I thought I'd get better, and I did, somewhat, never really got rid of all the symptoms. I waited too long to see the doctor, because I just didn't think it was serious. Finally I collapsed at work and they brought me in. He said I had leukemia and it was too late to do anything. He gave me six months. When I was stabbed my already weak state didn't take to well to it and my organs started to shut down. I don't have much more time. I know I'm dying, an hour maybe." She said swallowing hard.

"No, no Maggie, we can feed you our blood, you'll heal." Klaus said. Maggie shook her head and smiled weakly at him.

"I don't want it. I'm human Klaus, and I plan to stay that way and die that way. No vampire blood." she said.

"Maggie, be reasonable." Klaus said.

"No." she said harshly. A fit of coughs took over her body and she gasped for breath, her body shaking.

"Niklaus." Caroline said softly, using her free hand to touch his arm tenderly.

"I'm sorry Maggie. Ok, no blood." he said.

"Niklaus used to tell my mother stories of his family and she in turn told me. When I became sick and found out that it was terminal, I sought out Elijah, seeing as Klaus always told mother how kind and gentle Elijah was. He found me and after some time of us knowing one another I entrusted him with something very precious to me." she nodded to Elijah and he left the room. He was back within minutes, the door opened and he stepped through, but on his hand was a small child. She was gorgeous and Caroline's mouth fell open. She looked so much like Anna.

"Caroline, Niklaus, this is Anna. She's my daughter." Maggie smiled. Caroline looked back and forth between Maggie and Anna.

"She's 15 months old. I always kept her hidden from you Niklaus, and for that I am sorry, but I never showed her to anyone, I always kept her hidden away from the world, just me and my girl." Maggie smiled as tears came to her eyes.

"I remember mother telling me stories of your Anna, and when she was born, the name seemed to fit. I handed her over to Elijah when she was just 10 months old, he's had her every since then." Maggie said. Caroline stood off the bed and continued to stare at the little girl who looked so much like her Anna. Blonde curls topped her head and bright blue eyes stared back at her.

"I want you two to take her when I'm gone." Maggie whispered. Caroline and Klaus whirled around, starring at Maggie, both their mouths open.  
"Maggie." Caroline whispered.

"No one is talking me out of this. I know you will both take care of her. She will be loved, spoiled, and treated like a princess. I want you two to be her parents. Be her Momma and Daddy, don't tell her about me until she is older. I know you will protect her and love her. I'm dying, and there is no way I am giving her to anyone else." Maggie said.

"But…" Klaus started.

"But nothing, it is my dying wish. You fulfilled my mother's wish, you watched over me. Fulfill mine, please, take care of my baby." Maggie said as tears rolled down her cheeks. Caroline closed her eyes and felt tears come up, she couldn't deny her this, she was giving her her child. She couldn't imagine how hard this decision was.

"I swear to you, we will take care of Anna. She was never need for anything and she will have everything she wants, to an extent of course." Caroline chuckled softly as she sat down and took Maggie's hand. Maggie smiled and closed her eyes, squeezing Caroline's hand.

"Everything goes to her when I die. The money, the house, all of it. I would like for the house to stay in the family, please don't sell it. Use the money to buy her anything she needs. It won't last forever, but it will get you started. Elijah has her crib and clothes." Maggie said.

"We would never dream of selling the house." Klaus said. She nodded to Elijah and he slid his hand into his coat pocket and passed a folded up piece of paper to Klaus.

"That is a list, it tells you everything you need to know about her. What kind of diapers she wears, her favorite foods, colors, toys, everything." She said. Klaus nodded and tucked it into his pocket. Caroline stood and kneeled down in front of the small child.

"Hello Anna, aren't you just the cutest little thing? Can I hold you?" Caroline asked as she held her hands out. Anna grinned, a wide grin and she stepped into Caroline's arms. Caroline lifted her and then walked back to Maggie's bedside.

"She is so sweet." Maggie said as her eyes closed, her breathing was becoming erratic and Caroline could smell the death in the room.

"Here we go." Caroline eased Anna down into the bed and Maggie affectionately kissed Anna's forehead.

"I love you." she said to the little girl. Anna smiled down at her and then stretched her arms up to Klaus. He smiled down at her and lifted her up.

"We'll give you a minute." Elijah said as he carefully took Anna.

"Thank you for everything Elijah." Maggie said. Elijah nodded and dropped a kiss on Maggie's forehead before he and the others left the room. Maggie was struggling to breath and her face showed a lot of pain.

"Are you hurting?" Caroline asked.

"Yes, but this is a shitty hospital, they won't give you anything." Maggie smiled weakly.

"I'll be right back." Caroline said. She stood and walked from the room. She wasn't going to let her suffer, she refused to watch her hurt. Caroline approached the nurse's station and one of the women looked up and smiled.

"I need enough morphine to stop someone's heart. Painlessly." Caroline said as she stared right into the woman's eyes. The nurse nodded briskly and turned away. Caroline waited patiently as the nurse walked down the hallway. The nurse emerged with a syringe and passed it to Caroline.

"Forget you ever saw me." Caroline said as she turned away. She went back into the room and returned to her position on the bed. Maggie was gasping in pain and grunting, she coughed and blood ran from her lips.

"Maggie, I can make all of this go away, just say the word." Caroline said gently. Maggie looked up at the needle and nodded slowly.

"Do it." she said calmly. Caroline nodded and gently unscrewed the morphine drip from the port in Maggie's vein. It wasn't helping as much as it should have been. Caroline popped the top on the syringe and unscrewed the needle, tossing it aside.

"Promise me that you'll always love Anna." Maggie whispered. Caroline felt tears running down her cheeks and she nodded.

"I swear to you, we will love her and cherish her." Caroline said. Klaus sat down next to Maggie and took her hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing it.

"Now." Maggie said softly. Caroline screwed the syringe into the port and hit the plunger, sending the medicine into Maggie's veins. She unscrewed it and tossed it down and grabbed up Maggie's hand.

"Be happy. I'll be ok." Maggie said to them both.

"Shh, rest." Klaus said. Maggie tried to nod but her head barely moved. Her grip loosened on Caroline's hand, the beeping on the heart monitor next to the bed started to slow, the beeps becoming less frequent, until the beep was a steady beep signaling that her heart had stopped.

"Her body will be delivered to the funeral home in her will, we'll set it up. We need to go." Klaus said. Caroline saw the fresh tears in his eyes, and her heart ached for him. Caroline watched as he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Maggie's forehead he lingered for a moment, a few tears escaping and rolling down his cheeks, some falling to Maggie's eyelashes. A hard sob racked Caroline's chest as he moved back and nodded. Caroline leaned down and kissed Maggie's cheek and then pressed her hand gently there.

"Thank you for trusting me with your baby." She whispered before Klaus took her hand and they left to room.

* * *

**Epilogue: 2 years later**

Caroline was completely relaxed, her whole body at ease. She was lying in a field of wildflowers, her head was resting in Klaus's lap, his fingers running through her hair slowly and softly. His hand slipped into hers and he lifted it up, placing a kiss right below the ring on her left hand.

"Remarrying you was the second best decision I ever made." He said.

"And the first?" Caroline asked. He chuckled and dipped down.

"Marrying you the first time." He said placing a peck on her lips. Caroline smiled and opened her eyes when she heard a child's laughter. Anna came running from the side and jumped on Caroline. Caroline caught her and laughed as Anna sat down on her stomach.

"Momma, did I come from here?" Anna asked pressing her little finger against Caroline's stomach.

"No baby, you didn't." Caroline shook her head. Anna grinned.

"Daddy where did I come from?" she asked.

"You know where you came from." He smiled at her and ran his hand through Caroline's hair again.

"I came from an angel right momma?" Anna asked. Caroline nodded and smiled.

"That's right baby." Caroline smiled. Anna beamed and laid down on Caroline's chest, her small head tucked into her neck and she kissed Caroline on the cheek.

"I love you momma." she said.

"I love you too angel." Caroline said. Anna leapt up and grabbed both Klaus' cheeks and pressed a huge kiss to his nose.

"I love you too daddy." she grinned. Klaus chuckled and kissed her nose in return.

"I love you right back." he said. Anna laughed and turned, she ran back out across the field, a huge smile on her face. Caroline put her hands on Klaus' leg and smiled.

"So, no plans for world domination in the future?" she asked

"No, I am perfectly content. I have my love, my family, and friends. I could not ask for more." he said.

"I cannot believe what I am hearing, the infamous Niklaus Mikaelson doesn't want more." Caroline said.

"Actually." he said slowly. Caroline chuckled and rolled over, climbing to her knees to face him.

"What is it? What do you want?" she asked. He grinned and ran his hand down her arm.

"I want a home. I'm tired of running the roads, staying here and there. Anna owns the house in New Orleans. Let's go there. We will always be safe." he said.

"You want to settle down?" Caroline asked.

"I do. I want to live in a house with a swing set in the backyard for Anna. I want to have a bedroom I can sleep in every night with you by my side and Anna right next door. I want a kitchen where we can cook dinner and a table where we can sit down as a family and eat together. I want all the simple things Caroline." he said. Caroline grinned from ear to ear. That was all she'd ever wanted with him, the small things, the life.

"Let's do it." she said.

* * *

Caroline heard the cars pull up into the driveway as she finished pouring the liquor into the four smaller glasses she continued on and poured wine into the three wine glasses on the counter.

"In the kitchen!" Caroline called as she heard the front door open. Damon was first around the corner, Elena right behind him, followed by Stefan, Rebekah, and Elijah.

"So domestic." Damon smiled and dropped a kiss on her cheek as he walked around her and grabbed a glass from the counter.

"Very funny." She said. Stefan chuckled and walked around her, dropping a kiss on her other cheek.

"Ignore him." he said lifting a glass.

"I assume Klaus is wrapping the gift?" Elijah said lifting a glass and Caroline's hand. He pressed a small kiss to her knuckles and released her. Always the gentleman.

"Yes, he is out back. Will you take this out to him?" Caroline said passing Elijah the other glass. He nodded and the men mumbled their goodbyes and headed out.

"You look very happy." Elena smiled as she sat down and took a glass of wine. Rebekah grabbed one and Caroline lifted the other as she looked around her home.

"I am very happy." Caroline said. Rebekah beamed, "We are very happy for you." she said.

"Well what about you two? Rebekah how is Stefan? Elena how's Damon?" she asked.

"Stefan is kind, gentle, and very giving." Rebekah smiled and sipped the wine.

"And Damon is the same as always, but I adore him for it." Elena smiled.

"If you would have told me five years ago that I'd be sitting in my house, remarried to Klaus, sitting with two girls who are my best friends, a yard full of family outside, and my precious girl upstairs who reminds me more and more of Anna every day, I would have called you insane." She smiled.

"Cheers to that." Rebekah smiled and lifted her glass. Caroline clinked her glass with both girls and took a sip.

"Mommy, mommy, mommy!" Anna called loudly as she came down the staircase.

"Kitchen baby!" Caroline called out. Anna came around the corner in her birthday outfit. Her bright green shirt, huge pink tutu, and shoes that lit up every time she walked.

"Oh look at my gorgeous niece!" Rebekah said.

"Aunt Bekah, Aunt Elena, it is my birthday!" she said loudly with a huge smile.

"We know, happy birthday baby!" they both said. The backdoor opened and Damon peeked in.

"Gifts are set up, bring the cake." He said.

"Uncle Damon it's my birthday!" Anna said smiling. He smiled at her and nodded.

"I know, happy birthday angel." He said. Caroline opened the fridge and grabbed the cake.

"Ok, Bekah, grab Anna. Elena grab the wine." Caroline said. They nodded and Caroline walked out into the backyard. Klaus was grinning from ear to ear as Anna came skipping out into the yard. Caroline put the cake down on the table and Anna hopped up into her chair.

"Can I open my gifts first?" she asked. Caroline opened her mouth to say no but was quickly interrupted.

"Of course you can baby." Klaus said. Caroline smirked and crossed her arms. Of course, he told her she could, she would expect no less from him when it came to spoiling Anna. She chuckled as Anna ripped into all her gifts, opening one after the other and getting everything she could ever think of wanting. When she was finished she looked up at all of them.

"Thank you!" she cheered. Everyone chuckled and Caroline leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"One more baby." She said as Klaus ran around the corner. Caroline was not sure what he'd gotten her, but he'd promised it would be huge and she would love it. Anna stood up in her chair and looked for her dad. He emerged from the corner pulling something on a rope. Caroline's eyes opened wide and her mouth dropped as she saw the all white pony come around the corner, paired with a dyed pink mane and tail.

"A PONY!" Anna screamed and jumped off the chair. She rushed to Klaus and he lifted her up and put her on the horse's back.

"Daddy, walk me around." Anna said as she beamed with joy. Klaus looked at Caroline and gave a small grin.

"Actually I think I'll let Uncle Elijah do that, because I think I need to talk to your mother." He said passing the rope to Elijah.

"You got her a horse." Caroline said nodding. Klaus smiled and slid his arm around Caroline's waist.

"I know I probably should have told you, but I knew you would not be happy. But, before you get too angry, look at how wonderfully happy she is." He said. Caroline's arms were crossed as she looked over at her daughter. Anna was laughing and giggling and smiling. Caroline's heart soared seeing her baby that happy. She sighed and uncrossed her arms and leaned into his embrace.

"Fine, ok. But next time, talk to me." she said.

"Of course." He said placing a kiss on her cheek. Anna climbed off the horse and ran forward. She stopped in front of Caroline.

"Momma, you're not mad are you?" She asked. Caroline smiled and squatted in front of Anna.

"I could never be mad when you are so happy." She said. Anna threw her arms around Caroline's neck and squeezed her.

"Thank you for my gift. I love it." she smiled and released Caroline and ran back to the horse.

"And what about you Klaus, are you happy?" Caroline asked as she turned to face him. He smirked and slid his hands around her waist.

"Me? I am the happiest man in the world. I do not think there is anyone else on this earth that is as happy as I am. I have the only woman I've ever loved in my arms every night, and I have the most amazing angel in the world for a daughter." He said. She smiled and slid her arms around his neck.

"And you my love? Are you happy?" he asked.

"I am more than happy. I am blissfully and utterly in love with my life. I fall for you more and more each day and I have the most amazing daughter. I feel like I have my family back. I believe if I was any happier, my heart would burst and I would die." She smirked.

"Well then we'll just have to make sure you don't get any happier." He said with a small chuckle. Caroline smiled and Klaus leaned his forehead against hers.

"I love you." he said. Caroline's heart thrummed with joy and she closed her eyes briefly.

"I love you too." She said as their lips came together.


End file.
